Paleblood
by Arrixam
Summary: Bell had the strangest dream. Problem is... he can't remember what it was about. But the Dream remembers him. The Dream will never forget what he had done. And within the Waking World, the Hunters he had wronged will be coming for him. Oedon does not forgive those who disrupted his slumber.
1. Chapter 1

It wasn't supposed to be like this!

All he wanted was to become strong and find a cute girl.

He knew there was the risk of danger when becoming an adventurer. Everyone knew that much. His goddess and his sponsor had told him various things. He knew about the dangers from the stories his grandfather had told him and by all the books he had read. The traveling adventurers passing through his farm had their fair share of stories as well.

He had been knocked around plenty of times by the monsters of the dungeon. But he made sure to keep a level head and stay in a comfortable floor until he felt he was strong enough to try some of the lower levels. It had gone this way for months and he was ready for the fifth level.

The monsters were definitely stronger here, that was for sure. He had been pushed but not broken. He fought hard and gained more experience and prizes.

…And then the minotaur showed up.

The minotaur was supposed to be something way out of his league. It was a monster found in the deeper reaches of the dungeon. It was fast, powerful, and his blade couldn't cut through its thick hide. And the cleaver it used broke down the walls and made the ground quake with every swing. It was more of a hammer than a blade.

He tried to run from it. But the creature was fast and pursued him endlessly. It was only through sheer dumb luck he had managed to avoid its strikes.

Eventually his luck ran out. He came across a dead end.

Panting from exhaustion and shaking with fear, he could only press his back to the wall and lift his dagger in defiance at the beast.

In another time, someone would have come to save him. This minotaur had fled from a higher-ranking party of adventurers. One of them would have followed after it, would have killed it, and he would have been saved.

But his salvation was a few minutes behind. She was coming. But she wouldn't make it in time.

The minotaur swung. He didn't even get the chance to scream as it cleaved him in two.

 _ **Ah. You've found yourself… a Hunter.**_

 __"Ah ha… You must be the new Hunter…"

Bell didn't know if he was tripping out or if he really was dead. He remembered… pain. Something deep tearing his chest in two. But he couldn't remember what it was. There was a thick fog clouding his memory. His feet had carried him to this garden until the haze cleared and he began to make sense of his surroundings.

The garden led to a slope of stairs. Little Ones— he decided to call them such because he didn't know what else to describe them— lured him into the house at the top of the hill. It was… a workshop. Books lined the shelves with most of them scattered in large piles everywhere on the floor. Desks and tables ran up the walls with various tools sprawled across them. Cabinets held vials and glasses and other assortments he didn't know what was what. And at the far end was an altar.

Sitting at the center of it all was an old man in a wheelchair. This old man looked up at Bell with appraising eyes.

"Where am I?" Bell asked. He didn't know whether to be afraid of this place or not. He didn't know where he was or how he got here. None of this felt real. It seemed so… chaotic. And yet… so peaceful.

The old man smiled, his fingers adjusting on the top of his cane. "Welcome to the Hunter's Dream. This will be your home… for now."

Bell looked around once more. Yes. He could feel it. All of this was a dream. None of this was real. It explained why he was so calm despite there being every reason for him to panic. Since when did dreams ever make sense? When had he ever been in control over it? And in dreams was he always at peace.

"I am Gehrman," the old man introduced himself. He shuffled around in his chair with a look of doubt in his eyes. He looked… unsure on how to proceed. Shy? Timid? Frightened? "Hmm, friend to you Hunters. You're sure to be in a fine haze about all this. But don't think too hard about it. Just go out there and kill a few beasts. It's for your own good. Y'know, it's just what Hunters do."

Bell could only nod at this. It didn't make sense. And yet it made _perfect_ sense.

"You'll get used to it," Gehrman shrugged. He looked around while continuing to ramble. "This was once a safe haven for Hunters. A workshop where Hunters used blood to enhance their weapons. And flesh. We don't have as many tools as once we did; but, you're welcome to use whatever you find…"

He leaned forward and wagged his finger at Bell, urging him to draw closer. Bell did so.

And the old man whispered his secrets, "Even the Doll. If it pleases you."

Bell only nodded. With his dagger and his spare still strapped to his bindings, he walked out of the workshop to begin the hunt.

 _ **This town is cursed. Whatever your reasons may be… you should plan a swift exit. Whatever there is to gain from this place will only do more harm than good…**_

"Hello, Good Hunter," she said.

The Doll. He was fascinated by her. She was so pretty. It hurt to find something so beautiful was a lifeless doll. But upon returning to the Dream after his confrontation with a beast unlike any other at the bridge… she was standing before him. Talking.

"I am a doll here in this Dream to look after you," she continued to speak in a sweet voice. But no emotion. She couldn't have any emotion. Such was a concept that couldn't exist within her. Still… he couldn't help but flush and advert his gaze when someone so pretty was addressing him.

"H-Hello!" he ended up shouting with his eyes closed. "I am Bell Cranell! It's nice to meet you."

The doll stared at him for a long time. Her head tilted as if the slight angle change in her vision of him would bring a new set of enlightenment in understanding him. Apparently it did.

…Because after a while of staring at him she began to clap her hands.

It made him want to curl up into a ball and bury himself in the flowerbeds.

"Honorable Hunter, pursue the echoes of blood…" she went on. "And I will channel them into your strength. You will hunt beasts. And I will be here for you to embolden your sickly spirit."

She lifted her hand with her large eyes gazing down at his own. He complied and brought his hand into hers. There was… warm in her touch.

Oh how he wished his palms weren't so sweaty from nerves.

"Very well," the Doll said. A strange light began to glow from her mechanical hands. "Now shut your eyes."

This was all very familiar to him. Not in the same familiarity he had whenever he returned to this Dream. Not this alien and yet welcoming feeling. He felt like he had done this before but could not recall when or how.

All of the blood he had spilt from hunting the monsters and deranged villagers resurfaced as memories. All of their lives and experiences flashed through him. But he could not make sense of it. They weren't his lives so there was no point in trying to sympathize with something he couldn't understand. As quickly as these things came… they went. The memories soaked into his flesh.

And he felt himself become a little bit stronger out of it.

"Farewell, Good Hunter," the Doll let go of his hand. He wished she could have held on to it a little bit longer. But he was also ashamed his hand was so sweaty. "May you find your worth in the Waking World."

 _ **Beasts all over the shop… You'll be one of them, sooner or later.**_

"Oh hello there," Eileen greeted him as he approached.

She had been a marvelous help to him. And a nice change of pace to this nightmare of blood and monsters. She was one of the firsts outside of the dweller of the church ward to talk to. He had panicked earlier, had run around in circles as were-beasts hounded him. And Eileen had swooped in to save him. Though… she scolded him pretty harshly afterwards and gave him what she called Hunter Marks for him to flee.

He didn't use them. He chose to continue fighting.

She had shaken her head at the time… but offered sound advice that had saved his life plenty before.

"Perfect timing," she went on. "I must warn you not to go near the tomb below Oedon Chapel below the Cathedral Ward. Henryk, and old Hunter, has gone mad. And he's _my_ mark."

She did not hunt beasts like Bell. She was once a part of the Dream just like how he was now. Eileen was a Hunter of Hunters. She preyed upon those who gave in to the frenzy of the blood and put them down before they could become something worse than the beasts that plagued Yarnham.

He knew better than to interfere with her work. He was still young an inexperienced. He had much to learn and Eileen had survived the Hunter's Dream on another night long ago. He'd probably get in her way if he followed her.

But… she had saved his life once. And the feeling in his gut told him he wouldn't get the chance to pay her back if she walked in there alone.

Against his better judgment, and against her cold words, he followed her down into the graveyard where he had put down Father Gascoigne.

He had been right all along to have followed her.

The Hunter garbed in gold had overpowered her. While Eileen was swift and precise with her twin daggers, Henryk was stronger and just as cunning. He kept her at bay and managed to land his own series of crippling blows against her. She was bleeding with a bad gash on her leg hindering her movements. Now Henryk was faster than her.

He stepped in. Henryk was deranged and so focused on Eileen he hadn't been able to see Bell coming. A stab right at his waist was more than enough to cause the golden Hunter to stagger.

Eileen delivered the finishing blow.

"…That wasn't necessary of you… but you have my thanks," she said while panting. Henryk's body had yet to go cold. "We made it with our lives. You must have killed Gascoigne, then? He was falling apart— I'm sure it had to be done. But try to keep your hands clean. A Hunter should hunt _beasts._ Leave the hunting of Hunters to me."

She gave a chuckle while tucking her weapons away and gracing her hand on his arm.

 _ **There's nothing more horrific than the Hunt. In case you haven't realized… the things you hunt, they're not beasts. They're people. One day you will see.**_

This no longer began to feel like a Dream. This was a Nightmare. Hunters like him plagued the streets of this perverted world. They hunted the beasts when the beasts wanted nothing to do with them. A hoard of them ran past Bell, ignoring him completely. It was a Hunter who had chased them down.

He found himself fighting against the Hunters who had been driven mad. He was saving beasts.

The deeper he traveled… the more he wanted to wake up from the Nightmare. Many times he returned to the Dream and conversed with the Doll and Gehrman. The Doll said very little. And Gehrman either chuckled or offered no words at all.

Bell was forced to trek this land alone.

The deeper he went… the worst things got.

He had heard stories about the Healing Church. He had heard they were the ones who introduced blood ministration. The blood Bell used whenever he was wounded. It healed all with the exception of poisons.

He didn't think to question the origins of their miracle elixir until he met the Church's First Hunter, Ludwig.

…or the monster that was once Ludwig.

"Good Hunter," and all remained of Ludwig after their fight was his head. "Have you seen the thread of life? Just a hair. A fleeting thing! Yet I clung to it, steeped as I was in the stench of blood and beasts. I never wanted to know what it really was. Really, I didn't…"

Bell had nothing to say. He was too tired and the battle had worn out his spirit. He thought what he was doing was for a noble cause. He thought the Church had been a saving grace of all that was good. He had heard legends of Ludwig the Holy Blade. To find a hero he looked up to had become a beast brought Bell down.

He listened to Ludwig's ramblings. And that's all they really were. Ramblings.

Ludwig wasn't talking to Bell. He never was.

Proof he never was came immediately after. Ludwig's words became incoherent ramblings as he drifted off in his speech. Eventually it stopped being words only Ludwig could understand and became maddened screams and howling laughter.

Bell couldn't put him out of his misery. His dagger was raised, ready to plunge deep into his hero's brain. But he couldn't do it. Ludwig deserved so much better.

Bell couldn't stop crying when Simon came in and performed the deed for him. The Hunter of the Nightmare offered sound wisdom and words of prayer and sympathy for Ludwig. But Bell couldn't hear any of it.

Why was he here? What was he fighting for? What was the purpose of the Hunt?

 _ **A corpse should be left well alone. Oh I know very well how the secrets beckon so sweetly. Only an honest death will cure you now— liberate you from your wild curiosity.**_

He thought he had seen everything. He thought he could no longer be surprised. He thought he had started to understand this Dream/Nightmare.

…Until a giant multi-limbed _thing_ with a caged skull grabbed him and devoured him.

He found himself in a place of chaotic familiarity liken to the Hunter's Dream. It was a building of similar architecture to the Hunter's Workshop, to Bergynwerth… and the research facility Lady Maria protected. But this was no place of beasts or of eldritch creatures. This was a place of learning.

The students roaming around with scrolls tucked under their… arm(?) ignored him as they carried on with their business. They were neither humor nor beasts. They were some sort of slime construct wearing black caps and matching uniforms. Some looked at him quizzically. Some even spat _slime_ at him. But if he kept his distance they left him alone.

Much like the Hunter's Workshop, the building was filled with books and scrolls. Unfortunately most of them were faded. This was another Dream. Whoever was dreaming had either forgotten what knowledge remained in the books or had never read them in the first place.

But Bell did find a few things of note. Such as the words carved onto the side of an office desk.

 _We must kill the Old Ones._

"Oh. A Hunter of beasts are you?"

Bell spun around, only to shriek in terror and raise his dagger in alarm.

What eyed him was a spider as large as his torso. But instead of a multi-eyed head stared a pair of eyes belonging to the head of a bald man. He was a pale man with the body of a spider.

He crawled along the wall, around Bell, and stood on top of the desk he had been examining. "Glory be, you know not the value you possess. But…" it shrugged, as if it still possessed human shoulders. "More's the pity."

Bell could only keep his dagger pointed with his back pressed against a bookshelf. He gulped. He had been wrong to believe nothing could surprise him after that… _thing_ took him into the Nightmare.

It cackled while it watched him squirm. "Now wait just a moment. Do you think ill of me? Me?!"

"N-N-N-No!" Bell shook his head with everything he had.

"Hmph," it smiled, unconvinced but willing to humor him. "I should think not! I shared with a thing of you most secret. Now, you've witnessed a miracle. And all the stronger for it. You should appreciate it, if you have a grain of gratitude for it. Hmm, hmm, hmm, yes, hmm, hmm, hmm appreciate it…"

It cackled some more to some joke only it could understand.

"No matter," it abruptly stopped, though the sickening smile was still plastered on its face. "Such details are trifling. We're fast friends now. Let this express what words cannot. Doubt me not, good sir, what is friendship but a chance encounter?"

It laughed some more.

"I'm willing to do you a kindness. Step lightly around to the right of the cathedral… and seek an ancient shrouded church. The gift of the godhead will grant you strength. Yes… I'm unquestioningly certain…"

It laughed some more.

Bell nodded, promising he would do such.

But he had already come across the thing lingering around the church. It was how he got here in the first place.

 _ **Now I'm waking up! I'll forget everything!**_

His blood ran cold at the sight of her.

"Oh… is that you again?" Eileen looked up at him. Her body was slouched against the stone steps leading to the Grand Cathedral. Her hand was pressed against her side as fresh blood dripped down. He could see it flow down the steps.

"I'm afraid I made a bit of a blunder," she shook her head with an ironic laugh. "I'm just going to have a short rest. Though… don't worry. I've taken blood. Enough to save an old woman… No more Dreams for me… This is my last chance."

She was panting. Her voice was losing the deep roar of determination he praised. Never before had he seen her so weakened. Eileen always became stronger after every Hunter she faced. He marveled at her work.

She may have taken blood to heal… but even he knew she wouldn't recover from this.

"What a fool I am. I'll have to trek carefully. But that thing still lies in wait."

He looked at the trail of blood that led to the Cathedral. Was it another Hunter's blood or was it Eileen's? Either way, whatever she had been tracking was still within.

"Turn back," she put some of her fire into her words. She knew what he was about to do. "This is my score to settle. My prey lies in wait this way. _Turn back._ "

He didn't listen. He knelt down and patted her knee, giving it a firm squeeze. And then he picked up her trick weapon, the Blades of Mercy, to finish what she started.

He owed Eileen more than his life. He'd have been lost in blood and madness in the Hunt if it hadn't been for her.

He returned to her soaked in the blood from his wounds… but more from the wounds of his enemy. It had been another Hunter. A Vileblood or one who had followed their practices. He was beyond salvation and used his own blood as a weapon. Bell used up the blood vials he could carry from the Hunter's Dream as well as his antidotes.

He had none left to save Eileen. But… she had already been beyond salvation herself.

"Don't you ever listen to your elders?" she spat at him… but a tinge of warmth was felt beneath her icy tone. "No matter… You did save my life. I don't seem to be apt for this life no more. My glory days were… long ago now."

He knelt down beside her. Their hands met. He gave it a firm squeeze as he knew this would be their last time they could meet like this. He brought her trick weapon around to return to its rightful master.

But Eileen put her other hand up. She cupped her weapons and pressed them against his chest.

"Here, for you," she said in a low voice. "This too is Hunter's work. But it bears no honor. The burden you may choose to carry… the decision is yours alone."

Her body shivered. She groaned. "Hoh… my eyes grow heavy… Let me rest awhile. I'll be fine. Just… wait…"

He did wait. He waited at her side, holding her hand the entire time. He listened to her breathing. At how it became irregular, became light… and eventually stopped.

When her body sagged, he let the tears fall down.

 _ **We are born of the Blood. Mad men by the Blood. Undone by the Blood. Our eyes are yet to open. Fear the Old Blood.**_

"Why is the house on fire?!" Bell shrieked as soon as he returned to the Dream.

The Hunter's Workshop was on fire. Wood crackled and splintered by the heat. All of his hard work recovering lost artifacts, chalices for the dungeons, and the lost instruments of the Workshop was going up in smoke.

His inventory was stored in the chest within!

"Ah, Good Hunter, you have come," and yet the Doll stood unbothered that her home was falling apart. Then again… getting a reaction out of her was impossible. She only reacted like an actual human girl when he gifted her the hair ornament… and when he killed Lady Maria.

"W-Water!" Bell scrambled around the compound looking for a well or something. "Help me put it out!"

The Doll only tilted her head, unable to understand his panic. "Dawn will soon break. This night and this Dream will soon end. Gehrman awaits you at the foot of the great tree."

She pointed to the garden that had been barred to him. An iron fence had closed it off and Gehrman had forbade him from trying to enter.

Had it been anything but a Dream, Bell would have ignored her words and tried to put out the fire. But all rationality was lost when a dream was involved. He found himself moving. He walked down the path, pushed open the gates, and strolled into the large hill that housed hundreds of flowers. And there, just as she had said, Gehrman had sat under the ancient tree.

"Good Hunter… you've done well," greeted the First Hunter with a proud smile. "The night is near its end. Now, I will show you mercy. You will die, forget the dream, and awake under the morning sun. You will be freed from this terrible Hunter's Dream."

The Dream will end. Bell will finally awaken. It was what he wanted. What he would wake up to… he couldn't recall. The dream world and the waking world were two different things. He was unable to determine what was out there just as he wouldn't be able to remember this dream once he woke up.

His hands clenched tight around the Blades of Mercy. He was never the first Hunter to go through this Dream… nor would he be the last.

"No," he shook his head. "I don't want anyone else to go through this. What was the point of the Hunt?!"

Gehrman looked at him sadly. The old man sighed…

And stood up.

"Dear, oh dear," the ancient hunter shook his head as he reached for his trick weapon that hadn't been there before. It simply appeared.

This was never Bell's Dream. This was always Gehrman's Nightmare.

"What was it? The Hunt? The blood? Or the horrible Dream?" Gehrman paced forward, holding a curved blade that could transform into a scythe and back again. He meant to kill Bell and end this Dream by any means at all.

Bell drew out Eileen's Blades of Mercy. Tonight… he will become the last Hunter of Hunters. He will end the Hunt. He will stop any other Hunter from entering the Dream.

"It doesn't matter," Gehrman adjusted the grip on his weapon. "It always comes down to the Hunter's helper to clean up after these… sort of messes. Tonight… _Gehrman joins the Hunt!_ "

He moved faster than any beast or Hunter Bell had ever come across.

But Bell did not flinch. He charged forward, a battle cry escaping his lips as he took on the old man. The Blades of Mercy danced against Gehrman's Burial Blade

 _ **Farewell, Good Hunter. May you find your worth in the Waking World.**_

Bell jolted awake.

Did he seriously fall asleep in the dungeon?! Even for a newbie like him he knew better than to do something like that! Monsters could have gotten to him or another adventurer to rob him.

…Just in case he made sure to check his inventory. Nope, everything was accounted for and no thief came by to pick his pockets while he was out cold.

What time was it? How long had he been asleep? It was difficult to tell since the dungeon didn't shine any outside light. He could have been in here for a full day. But… that couldn't be. Monsters spawn out of the walls themselves. He would have surely been mobbed by a few of them if he had rested longer than a few minutes.

Oh, that's right, he was eating his lunch. He must have fallen asleep shortly after.

He couldn't let his goddess or his sponsor hear about this. They'd give him an earful.

Bell stood, patted himself clean of crumbs from the sandwich and the dirt (and the drool), and performed a few stretches. His body was stiff after having slept on the hard floor and it'd be terrible getting a cramp once he begun to fight monsters. A nimble body was best since he was smaller than the average adventurer.

Gathering his things, he hefted his back over his shoulder and trekked back up the walkway of the dungeon in search of more monsters.

Hmm… his bag was a lot lighter than he remembered. Nothing was stolen… but he could have sworn he had more materials from today's expedition.

And hadn't he been this way already? Well, yeah, he always came this way whenever he went into a dungeon. But he was sure he had come across this way _today._

A sense of déjà vu swam through him. He remembered this eerie silence, the murky scent in the air, and the echoing of his boots against the dungeon's floor. He even remembered eating his lunch awhile ago.

He stopped.

He felt like he had seen that minotaur before…

Wait. A minotaur?!

That was a monster found on the seventh floor! And Bell had barely begun scouting out the fifth floor! _Scouting!_ He wasn't ready to take on some of the stronger creatures! He wasn't even sure if he completed the fourth floor!

The monster spotted him. Its eyes glowed red with rage as it hefted its cleaver over its head and began to charge at him.

…Yet, why did it seem so slow to him?

He did not run from this creature. He found himself drawn towards it. His feet took him a few steps forward. A form with his stance and his hands was made. He drew out his short sword. A sword, not the dagger he got on loan by the Guild. With a flick of his wrist did sparks light up around its hilt. With another tug did it split in two, forming two daggers instead of one.

He sped past the hallway, swerving under the first swing of the cleaver. The minotaur didn't see him zip by. But Bell spun and crossed both his blades against the hide.

The Blades of Mercy danced yet again on this Hunt.


	2. Chapter 2

It was late afternoon, past the lunch hour, when the daily business at the Guild slowed down and the staff had little of much to do. But never were they idle. This would be the time when documents were detailed, the paperwork was sorted, and preparations for the evening rush would begin. Adventurers would be storming this building once the sun began to set, ready to record their findings and exchange their magic stones for val.

Eina Tulle was always ahead of the game and had finished her work for the day. But as an accountant for the Guild and an advisor to adventurers, she would stay and conduct business until the doors were shut for the evening.

She _could have_ helped Misha with her paperwork. Could have. But the book she was reading was far more interesting than the ever so rewarding task of doing someone else's job.

' _How to Talk to Fair Maidens'_ was a series of novels that had sprouted from an anonymous author. The series followed a young hero— the book used the term _Hunter_ rather than _Adventurer_ — as he went on a quest to find his true love. The book did well to define the points of etiquette and politesse with dealing with the fairer sex, disguising the instructions behind scenarios the hero had found himself in.

Eina had been drawn into the shenanigans the hero had fallen into— the third series she was currently at had the hero involved with multiple lovers and the drama that followed thereafter.

What she found most intriguing was how it pulled on her heartstrings. Everything the hero done had been masterful and charming. Everything he performed sang with her innermost fantasies (especially the ones she refused to admit to anyone else).

While the intentions of the book were for men to follow in the footsteps of the hero, the series was more liked by the female populace due to the fantastic dialogue and the deceptively charming protagonist. The hero was every woman's dream.

…Even Eina sighed, hoping in herself she could find a man just as wonderful as the protagonist.

"Missssss Eiiiinnnaaaaaa!"

She heard him coming from almost a mile away. Sweet relief filled her as her most recent charge had come back another day to live. Bell Cranell was such a young boy— too young to be an adventurer. But the law said otherwise. So long as any child could pick up the sword and had the blessings of a god then could they register themselves as adventurers and wander into the Dungeon.

Still… she took pity on this boy and drilled as much _advice_ as she could into him. Every day it was a battle of stress and worry with her. Whenever he left the Guild to start his day a part of her feared it would be the last time they would meet.

To hear his voice calmed her immensely. She shut her book, tucked it under her desk, and straightened her outfit so to better present herself before him.

"MISSS EIINNAAAAAAA!"

…She wasn't the only one who screamed at the sight of him.

Bell Cranell had swung both doors wide open and ran up to her desk… soaked to the bone in dried blood.

What in the name of all that is holy happened to him?!

Bell was not bothered by his current state of being. His impossibly innocent and childish smile was the only thing she could make out. Even his hair had been dyed by the blood.

Gods… the smell alone…

"Miss Eina!" he came up to her with a fire burning in his eyes. "Please tell me what you know of Aiz Wallenstein!"

0-0-0

Hestia was a goddess of the hearth. She was a goddess of the good flame, of protection, of growth and prosperity, of architecture, and— her heart swayed whenever this was brought up— of family. She was the youngest and oldest of her siblings (it was _way_ too complicated trying to explain how that worked) and had been there at the creation of the Lower World.

She was also incredulously lazy. Unlike all of the gods in her family, she held none of the responsibility. They even tried to marry her off to a cousin a number of times, and she had been able to evade that catastrophe by announcing her perpetual virginity. No man could lay a finger on her, much to the ire of the other gods— especially her sister Aphrodite.

She never regretted her choice of evasive maneuvers… until now.

Hestia only had one member in her team— her _familia._ Bell Cranell was the only one who accepted her as his patron goddess and joined her team in order to become an adventurer. She was a poor goddess who had to work for a living, who had to rely on Bell for food with his earnings as an adventurer, and couldn't even give him an appropriate place of rest.

They lived in the back room of an abandoned church. It was a secret room found by her dear friend Hephaestus… so not even Hestia had any help in finding a place for Bell. The room was draft in the winter and seering in the summer. There was a single bed, a sofa, a small table, a wardrobe, and a shower.

…Praise be to the Upper World there was running water.

Bell was such a sweetheart. Rather than scorning her for being such a poor and selfish goddess, he praised her for everything she had done for him. He gave her the bed and chose to sleep on the sofa. He praised her for bringing home scraps of bread and stock (which was really just _flavored water_ ). And he praised her for giving him her blessings as an adventurer.

She couldn't help but fall hopelessly in love with Bell Cranell.

But now… her heart was breaking.

She always knew about Bell's naivety. It was what she loved most about him. Still, it was annoying trying to lay advances on him and he never caught on to her attempts. She loved him even if she knew she could never lay with him, being a virginal goddess because of a folly several eons ago. But she wanted to be with him. She wanted to be _more_ than his patron goddess. But Bell was still young and she chose to wait patiently for him to mature. Eventually he would grow up and start to look at her with the eyes of a man.

She had been wrong.

At some point while she wasn't looking, Bell _had_ grown up. But it wasn't she who caught his attention. His eyes had honed in on someone else.

Aiz Wallenstein was her name and never before could Hestia hate another person with such vigor.

Bell had come home earlier than usual. He told her the story of how he was wandering through the Dungeon before coming across a minotaur. A minotaur of all things! Those were beasts found on the upper-levels of the Dungeon. He had been rather vague on the details of his story, and Hestia hadn't noticed because she was fawning in worry over his health. Was he injured? Did anything hurt? Did she need to strip him naked and apply first-aid?!

Her little daydream bubble popped at the mention of Aiz Wallenstein. Hestia was well aware of the Sword Princess. Who hadn't heard of the _Loki Familia's_ Sword Princess? She was a Level Five adventurer and one of the strongest of any gender. Even the gods revered her as Sword Maiden and Lady of Combat. There was a rumor going around as of late she had taken on a hoard of Level Five monsters all by herself.

Hestia could not help but feel the fires of jealousy against this woman. Here she was, an impossibly adorable _goddess,_ loving and caring Bell. She was the only one worthy of him. _She_ should have been the apple of his desire. What made this woman so special? Why wasn't it Hestia who had his attention?

She decided to just… let it go. Bell was probably going through some phase. He was at that age anyways. He could fancy whatever girl he liked. It was just a crush. Sooner or later he will realize Hestia was the one for him. She only needed to be patient (and maybe a little manipulative) until he learned the error of his ways and they could be happy together.

' _I'm going to kill her!'_

But upon updating his status, she swore a vendetta against Aiz Wallenstein.

Bell's scores didn't just shoot through the roof. They didn't double, triple, quadruple, no. They had pierced through the heavens and penetrated the grand cosmos that was the Upper World.

It was impossible. And she thought she read them wrong or performed the spell incorrectly. She was still figuring out how the blessings worked and Bell was her first member. Flukes happen. So she did it again, pressing the sheet against the hieroglyphs on his back. And again. And again. And again.

By the fifth time she realized it wasn't a fluke. This had really happened.

"G-Goddess…?" Bell called up to her. He was lying on his stomach on the bed while she sat on his fine tush to perform the ritual. "Is everything okay? You're taking longer than usual."

She didn't know what to do. She gripped the stat sheet enough to crinkle the edges. The numbers didn't make sense! What was she supposed to tell him? He had barely started his career as an adventurer less than a month ago! How could something like this happen?!

…It was that Aiz Whogivesadamn's fault.

"I'm more tired than I thought," she ended up saying. "I'm sorry Bell, but I keep messing up. I'm going to have to give you your status tomorrow."

"Oh…" he nodded with understanding. "That's okay. I hope you feel better after some rest."

A part of her felt guilty withholding this amount of information from him. But the other, more dominant, half of her wanted to jump him right here and now. Bell was just too cute!

They talked a little after that, enjoying the spoils of war Hestia had brought home from her job at one of the many cafés. More customers had started to show up since she took employment and the manager gave her a load of fried potatoes as thanks.

…All Bell talked about was Aiz and the things he had heard about her from his sponsor Eina.

She went to bed on a sour note, grumbling curses for the blonde _twig_ that stole her man.

It wasn't until at the unholy hour did she hear it.

Bell was sound asleep. But his sleep wasn't restless. He was tossing around on the sofa. She could hear faint whimpering escaping his lips. His face was in pain.

"Bell…?" she lifted her head and rubbed the slumber from her eyes. She worried for him. Bell never had nightmares. He was probably traumatized about today's events. He had come face against a minotaur and had managed to come out of that with his life. Of course someone like him would be scared meeting death in the face.

She crawled out of bed and tried to wake up. A gentle shake at first. He didn't snap out of his dreams.

She could try to be a little forceful. She could slap him awake or shake him a little harder. But she didn't do any of that.

She unfolded the blankets and slipped in with him. Her leg wrapped around his waist as she brought his head close to her chest. She ran her fingers through his hair while muttering soothing comforts.

Eventually Bell stopped squirming. Peace at last graced him.

Hestia thought about going back to bed herself. But she chose not to. She continued to cradle Bell's head against her chest while her fingers played with his hair.

She remembered kissing his brow, muttering how troublesome he could be sometimes, and then she fell asleep at his side.

0-0-0

Something was different about him.

Bell realized this as he cut through a pack of goblins with unreal ease.

He was faster and stronger than ever before. His actions were swift. His body reacted before his mind could. His instincts guided him better than rationality. It went against some of the advice he had read about in books and through some of the words shared with more experienced adventurers.

And these blades… he couldn't remember where he found them. But there was a strong familiarity with them whenever he wielded them. He knew their length, their weight, how they function, how to grip them, how to spin them, the best angle to cut, and how to fold them together to form a straight sword. It was a technical marvel and something not found anywhere in the Dungeon City of Orario.

He could also track packs of monsters easily. His gut told him where they would sprout of the dungeon walls, if there was an ambush in waiting ahead, and how to lay a trap for them. He knew how to stalk them without making a sound, knew when to dodge and counter, and he knew when an attack was coming in his blind spot.

These goblins and cobals didn't know what hit them when he arrived. They always fell within the first strike.

He pushed his luck and went deeper into the Dungeon. He met against a pair of Shadow Stalkers— which were ideally humanoid shadows with claws as sharp as daggers.

His daggers were sharper. He was able to parry and even carve out their claws. In a flurry of exquisite moves could he circle around them, flank them, and gut them before they could unleash their next set of moves.

He also found he wasn't tired. His breathing was labored from all this running and jumping but he was hardly pressed. The monsters hadn't even been able to touch him. He always danced around them, always keeping on his feet, and always getting out of reach only to counter when an opening was presented.

Was it because he killed that minotaur? Did he gain all that experience from battling the minotaur? But then raised the question on how he was able to. A minotaur was a Level Two monster and he was barely a Level One. He shouldn't have been able to touch such a monster.

And yet he had danced around it, cutting into it as if it were any other low-leveled monster. It was helpless against him. Despite its immense strength and speed he was faster than it.

He gripped his blades as another set of monsters began to emerge out of the walls.

The Dungeon was a mysterious place. No one knew how it came to be. Not even the gods. But it is the place where monsters are born from. Adventurers come in to slay monsters, seek glory, and earn rewards from the monsters they defeat. Monsters seldom drop rare items— usually a piece of their bodies that refuses to fade away upon killing them— but all monsters carry a piece of magic stone within them.

The Dungeon was a place brimming with magic energy. It was enormous. No one knew what was at the bottom of the Dungeon and the Level Five adventurers were nowhere near close to locating the core. The deeper one goes, the stronger the monsters become.

Having only stepped into the sixth floor, the monsters here were cakewalk.

He continued to move deeper. Goblins vanished, being replaced by Wall Shadows and Shadow Stalkers.

And he continued to cut into them with unnerving ease. Not one of them could touch him.

His blades were streaks of silver as they tore into the shadowy flesh of the monsters before him. Their blood splashed over him, coating him in their ichor. It didn't bother him. He found himself… soothed by their blood covering him. It felt like he had experienced this before… to go through such a grueling journey and arriving at the destination with blood dripping off of his cloak.

He went to move to his next target…

But there was nothing left. He was alone in this room, having killed all of the monsters set before him.

He was breathing hard from having to run and jump endlessly since first arriving on this floor. He could have gone further into the Dungeon floor in pursuit of new monsters. But that wasn't the role of an adventurer. This strange feeling to… hunt was curved.

He began to grueling work of recovering the magic crystals the monsters dropped upon defeat. There was plenty of them. If only he had a little more money he could have hired a supporter to do this job for him. But _Hestia Familia_ was a poor team and needed to save their money for necessities and emergencies.

As he spent the time picking up stones off the ground (and— oh neat!— a rare drop item), he began to wonder where the urge to battle monsters came from. Perhaps it was because he wanted to test to see how strong he had gotten? Or was it because he wanted to reach Aiz Wallenstein's level as quickly as possible?

No, in actuality, the truth was something far worse. But Bell would not learn of it anytime soon.

0-0-0

There was a funny story on how he got here…

It all began early in the morning. The first thing that happened as soon as he woke up was to realize he was in a very awkward position.

His goddess was sleeping on top of him. She was very cute when she was sleeping— oh, she was _always_ cute. Bell couldn't resist having perverted thought about his goddess but kept his urges down. She was his goddess! It's not like he could do things with her the way he dreamed about. He didn't want to ruin the relationship they had.

But, seriously, how could he resist with those big breasts of hers?!

Hestia yawned, stretched a little, and fell back asleep. All the while her breasts nearly popped out of the blouse she fell asleep in. _All the while_ rubbing aforementioned breasts against his chest.

If he didn't do something soon, his friend downstairs would wake up and disturb her. He did not want to have to explain what that was about.

He had managed (somehow) to break himself free and substitute himself for a pillow. The goddess squeezed it firmly just as she had done against his body. He breathed out a sigh of relief at having to dodge that potential fiasco.

The dawn was starting. He decided to forgo any further sleep and start his day. It only took him a few minutes to gather his things, whisper goodbyes to his goddess, and slip out the door.

"Bell… you're an idiot."

He could have sworn he heard the goddess mutter something about him. But when he peaked through the door before closing it he found she was still asleep.

It was probably her sleep-talking.

The next thing to happen occurred while he was on his way to the Dungeon. A very cute serving girl had gained his attention after calling out to him. She presented him with a magic stone, saying it was his and he had dropped it yesterday after seeing him run down the street.

He felt his face flush at the memory… at how he was covered in the blood of the minotaur.

Her name was Syr Flover. She worked at a bar called the Benevolent Mistress. It wasn't upon at this hour and she was up this early with a few other employees to clean and prepare before lunch.

His face turned crimson as soon as his stomach growled. Because of not wanting to awaken the goddess he had skipped out on breakfast. He could have gone and picked up some bread or morsel from the Guild. But Syr disappeared and reappeared quicker than he could do anything. It was as if she was a flash of lightning!

There was a basket in her hands with a few pieces of bread and cheese within. It was her morning rations and she was giving it to him.

"…I can't accept that!" he protested.

"I insist!" she said while pushing it into his arms. Those eyes of hers twinkles as she put on a pouting face. "There will be something for me to eat once the shop opens. B-But… since I'm giving this to you… in exchange…"

"In exchange…?" Why did a rock fall into his stomach all of a sudden?

"You have to have dinner here," she declared.

Ah. He had been suckered by this cute girl. Of course. It's not like he could turn down a cute girl. It was his one true weakness. The goddess used it against him all the time and now this girl was using it on him, acting as if they were old buddies rather than strangers who just met.

Guilt chewed at his stomach. He couldn't decline her. So he promised to be back once his day was done.

…Fortunately, his day down in the Dungeon was fruitful. Usually he'd gain an average of two thousand val after a day. But because he had gone into the deeper reaches of the Dungeon he had earned three thousand val from the magic stones and an additional _four thousand_ from the rare item drops.

Added to his current funds he had nine thousand val!

…Minus the payout to the repairs of his equipment and finishing off the loan for the dagger he leased from the Guild. Make that five thousand, four hundred and thirty val. Still, it was quite the sum of money.

With this amount he could start saving for _Hestia Familia._ Maybe after a few more days with this bounty he could purchase some better armor, better food and provisions… maybe even buy his goddess a new dress or hair ornament. He wanted to do something for the woman who made him what he was today.

He should also buy Eina something nice. She had been extremely helpful (with the patience of a god) to him.

However… his goddess wasn't happy to see him once he returned home. She was annoyed with him but wouldn't say for what reasons. She hardly said a word to him.

It got worse when they updated his status.

"I'm going to kill her!" she shouted at the top of her lungs.

"W-What? Who? WHY?!"

Hestia tore his stat sheet into tiny shreds, stormed to the closet, grabbed a cloak, and headed for the door. "I'm going. You can stay here and have a lonely dinner all by yourself!"

Before he could get another word in, she slammed the door. He could hear her stomping her feet on the level above him.

He became a little depressed when he wandered into town looking for the Benevolent Mistress. He had made a promise to Syr to dine there. The guilt would eat away at him if he didn't show up, especially when she gave him her breakfast. It was the least he could do.

And now we continue to the present.

Bell was crying his eyes out as tray after tray of food was tossed his way by Mama Mia, the manager of the Benevolent Mistress. At first Bell was excited to be a customer here. Cute girls worked the shop. Cute girls of every species wearing salon aprons and maid dresses. He had an eyeful watching each of them run around full of smiles.

Syr was exceptionally happy to see him. He had been intimidated by the amount of people present— being a country bumpkin and all— and she eased his burden by pulling him to the back of the room. She found him a seat at the bar's edge, where no one could disturb him. He had been relieved.

…And then he began to cry as all the val he had saved up began to go down the drain. He didn't order anything and yet Mama Mia continued to serve him plate after plate of food. He couldn't even finish it all!

But Syr cheered him on. The vixen had been the one who told the shop about him and his promise. She apologized (halfheartedly) about his legend getting out of hand. All the other maids eyed him with glittering eyes and a few giggles here and there.

Someone took the seat across of him before he knew it.

"Red wine. Any will do so long as it is aged at least twenty-five years," she ordered from Mama Mia at the bar. "And I'll have the marbled roast to go with it. Medium rare."

She had a dignified air about her. He couldn't help but stare at her. She was very pretty, almost liken to a doll with her faultless skin and braided hair. She dressed in fancy clothing of red and black with a red tie— the style belonging to some of the upper-class adventurers or wealthy merchants who likened themselves to royalty. Her voice was exotic. Perhaps she was a traveler?

She caught him staring at her.

"E-Excuse me," he bowed his head in embarrassment.

She said nothing at first. Her hands picked up the glass of wine with her eyes tracing the liquid as she swirled it around. She lifted her glass towards him and dipped her head.

"To the night… and to the Hunt."

He fumbled around for his own glass— water, of course, he was still underage— and lifted it in equal salute. Though, he had no idea what he was cheering for. He only did it to be polite.

She kept to herself after that, even ignoring the occasional drunkard who tried to charm her. But every now and then her eyes were flicker over towards him. Eying him.

…They were the eyes of a killer.

"Bell?" Syr approached him without her apron.

He snapped out of it. The mysterious woman paid him no mind as she dug into her meal with the posture and grace of a noble.

"I'm so happy you could make it," Syr pulled up a chair from an unused table behind him and scooted beside him.

"Eh? Don't you need to work?" he asked.

"There are some things that need done," Syr eyed the kitchen specifically. "But the other girls can manage that. Besides, Mama Mia gave me the okay. Things usually quiet down at this time."

Behind the bar, Mama Mia nodded her head, having, without shame, eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" she asks next while— discreetly— scooting her chair closer to him.

"I'm a bit overwhelmed, honestly," he returns with a tired sigh. "But the food is great. O-Oh. I didn't thank you for earlier. The bread and cheese was good. You didn't have to do that for me."

"You coming here was worth the empty stomach," Syr said with a lovely smile that made him flush. Her eyes were smiling with coyness.

"…Don't you mean me spending a lot on dinner is worth it?" he complained while poking at today's special dish (at a cost of eight hundred and eighty val) with his fork. The fish was laughing at him and he knew it.

"Sorry," she bowed her head with a wink. He hoped she meant it. "This place is wonderful, isn't it? Lately we've gotten more popular with adventurers. Folks from all around come here. It's wonderful working here. I get to see different people always through those doors. New stories. New possibilities. New potential. You never know what will show up one day."

She said that last line with her eyes glittering at him.

His face felt like it was on fire. He had to look away.

But he found himself drawn to Syr. He could relate with her. There was a point in her words. Looking around, he could spot adventurers of all kind sitting together. He spotted adventurers with different emblems— belonging to different _familias—_ sharing drinks and stories with another. They all had different builds and thus different set of skills.

If Bell stuck around… perhaps he could learn a thing or two from his fellow adventurer.

Just as he was about to ask Syr about the bar some more, there was a commotion at the entrance.

"Eh? Who're they?"

"They royalty?"

"Look at the emblem."

" _Loki Familia_?"

"You mean them Giant Slayers?"

"Who's the babe in the back?!"

"She's outta your league, chap. That's—"

Aiz Wallenstein and the _Loki Familia_ strolled into the Benevolent Mistress, guided to a reserved table by one of the maids. Bell was captivated by them just as much as everyone else. Every member of the team had a look to them that belittled all other adventurers. They moved with power and grace earned by their deeds down in the Dungeon. Every one of them was equal to an army and their presence alone was proof enough.

His eyes saw Aiz in the back of the group. She sat down facing him but she hadn't noticed his presence. It didn't matter to him. Rather, he preferred it. He felt ashamed at having ran away from her after she had come to his rescue with the minotaur. Not that he needed it but… he felt ashamed at running from her.

She was like a goddess. She was beautiful without her armor.

"Bell…?" Syr followed his gaze. "Oh. Loki and her team are very fond of this place. This is their favorite hangout after long raid in the Dungeon. Each member is a frequent customer any other time as well."

Now he was determined to find a way to get more money. The _Loki Familiar_ were frequent customers to the Benevolent Mistress? Then that meant if he dined here regularly he could get the chance to dine with one of them. Maybe, just maybe, he'd be able to start up a conversation with Aiz.

"…Bell?" Syr tried to get his attention again. But he was lost in thought.

He should really get out of his seat and try to talk to her. Apologize for fleeing. But he was nervous. What was he supposed to do? It's not like he could openly ask her out. Both Eina and Hestia had told him Aiz was at the top of the game and _probably_ had a man or two she was interested in. Though Eina assured him Aiz Wallenstein wasn't dating anyone and had given him advice on how to get her attention, he was nowhere near ready to ask her out.

All he could do was watch her from a distance. He promised to himself he would get stronger so he could have the right to stand at her side. Girls like men who they could depend on, so said Eina. As he was now, he'd only get in the way of a Level Five adventurer.

He watched as the members of _Loki Familia_ devoured their food and ale with gusto. Aiz was one of the only ones who ate hers calmly and slowly. She looked so cute when she wiped her mouth clean. It was like she was patting a small kitten.

"Hey! Aiz! Tell us about that time again!" one of the members spoke up with a loud voice. "Y'know, that tomato boy!"

Suddenly, it felt like ice had run through his veins.

"Bell…?" Syr tried to get his attention again. This time placing a hand on his arm. But she realized all of his focus was on the team across the room. She noticed immediately at how his expression changed as soon as the wolf-prum spoke up.

Aiz stared at him. A small curve of her lips told him how displeased she was with his attitude.

"Are you talking about the minotaur from the seventeenth floor?" asked the elf in their group. "The one that ran away when we fought back?"

"Yeah!" cackled the wolf-man while swinging his mug of ale around. "And that _adventurer,_ that damn newbie kid, got himself cornered like a lil' bunny. Shook like one too! Poor thing was about to explode!"

"Oh?" gasped a dark-skinned woman at the table. She blinked, insinuating this was the first she heard of this story. "What happened to him? Was he okay?"

"Aiz here carved up the minotaur at the last second, ain't that right?"

Aiz put her utensils down. She continued to stare at the prum but didn't say a thing.

He was too drunk to hear her subliminal message. "The kid took the full blast of that stinky cow's blood, got soaked! So, tomato boy!"

He laughed so hard he nearly fumbled out of his chair.

"Aiz," the other dark-skinned girl at the table leaned forward, "please tell me you weren't trying to do that! I'm begging you!"

"…No, I wasn't," the Sword Princess sighed.

"And get this!" the man continued, slamming his hand on the table to get the entire bar's attention. "Tomato boy! He ran away, screaming his head off! Our princess saves him and he just buggers off!"

Now Aiz was scowling at him.

"Pfft," the first dark-skinned maiden put her hand over her mouth and started to laugh. "I'm sorry, Aiz, but I can't take this anymore. Don' make them scary eyes! It ruins yer cute face!"

Everyone started to laugh. The more reserved permitted a small chuckle while the more drunk roared out in laughter. Even the other bar patrons began to laugh upon hearing their chatter. The only one not laughing was Aiz.

…And Bell. His teeth were chattering while his fists were tightening.

"But really," the wolf-prum wiped the tears from his eyes. "It's been a long time since I've seen something so pathetic! So disgusting I could cry! The hell was he doing? If you're gonna cry like a little bitch you shouldn't be down there in the first place! Right, Aiz?"

Aiz looked away from him, no longer willing to listen to anything he had to say. Any point in trying would have been wasted. He was lost in his own merriment.

But Bell took it differently. All he saw was her looking away in shame, not wanting admit his words were true.

"A'ight, shut your mouth already Bete," said the elf of their party. "It was our mistake that let the minotaur escape. That boy had nothing to do with it. And stop drinking! Learn some respect."

"Bah," he waved his hand at her. "Eh, Aiz! What did you think about him? That pathetic piece of shit who was shaking in front of you? Do you think he deserves to be at our level, as an adventurer?"

Her eyes sharpened as she retorted, "He performed admirably despite the circumstances."

"Why you acting all Goody Two-shoes? 'Kay then, let's change it up. Him or me— who's got it going on? As a female, which male wags your tail? Which male makes you hot?"

Her scowl returned.

"What if that piece of trash…" Bete continued after downing the last of his ale, "came up to you, said he liked you, would you take him?"

She opened her mouth to answer—

"Of course you wouldn't!" he blurted out, laughing and slamming his hand on the table once more. "Why would a tiny kid who's so weak, feeble, and all-around nauseating have the right to even stand next to you? There's no way he'd measure up!"

Bell couldn't take it anymore.

"Bell?!"

He knocked his chair back and bolted out of the door. Tears streamed down his eyes at the horrible truth. That man had been right. He knew he wasn't strong enough to be with Aiz Wallenstein. It was impossible. But dream he did. And those dreams were utterly shattered all in the span of a few minutes.

Bell ran as fast as he could down the streets of Orario. He heard Syr calling out to him but it fell on deaf ears. His heart was racing, the tears burned through his eyes, and the pain in his chest lit a flame unlike any other at his core.

As he was now… he was too weak. He was a Level One and she was a Level Five. They might as well be on opposite sides of the planet with the difference in their abilities. He couldn't match up to her. He couldn't even _think_ of talking to her.

Stronger. He needed to get stronger.

For his goddess, who had given her blessings for him to be an adventurer.

For Bete, to prove Bell was not as weak as the prum believed.

And for Aiz, so he could stand next to her without shame.

It was late in the evening. He had no armor. And he only had a spare dagger for protection against muggers. But even with this much he ran through the night towards the Babel Tower, where the Dungeon resided.

0-0-0

Aiz watched as the white-haired figure ran out of her sights. It had been only a flash when she spotted him. He had hidden himself in the corner of the tavern, only to make himself appear by the commotion he caused. People laughed, claiming he was mad to have dine-and-dash from Mama Mia.

She thought she was aware of the presence of everyone in the tavern. It shocked her to find she had missed someone.

And that someone being her most recent curiosity.

She ran out of the tavern as fast as she could to catch him. But she was too late. The young boy was clear out of her reach. He ran if a demon was after him and it would take everything in her power to catch up to him. She could do it. But would it be worth it?

Her hand went to her pouch. If only she knew he had been here… she could have given him the magic stone and the minotaur's horn he had neglected to pick up.

"Bell…"

She whispered his name. So that was the name of the young man who had slain the minotaur they missed. The young man with the innocent presence of a rabbit. The young man who wielded his twin daggers like a fanged serpent.

She wanted to talk to him. Really, she did. She had been impressed by his style. But more than anything she had been tantalized by the look in his eyes. His eyes were so… innocent. How could someone be strong enough to defeat a minotaur without acquiring the bloodstained eyes of a predator?

"Aizuu~"

Her face twisted with annoyance as she felt someone wrap their arms around her and grope her left breast. Had it been a woman, Aiz would have warned them to back off. Had it even been a man, she would have thrown them off of her.

But for her genderly confused boss, Loki? The elbow to her gut as hard as Aiz could thrust was plenty.

"Come on, Aizuu~" the patron goddess of their team slipped away with minimal damage. She smiled while rubbing the spot at her ribs Aiz had struck. "What'cha lookin' at? Come back to the party. Ol' Bete's been dealt with, if that's botherin' ya."

True to her words, Bete was being gagged and bound. He thrashed around but the rope was tight. Plus they started to lift him up to the ceiling.

Aiz looked over the horizon one last time. Bell was beyond her sights at this point. Who knows where he ran off to at this late hour?

"I would."

It was the first thing she said when she reproached the table. Her voice was so low it had been overshadowed by the chorus of laughter going on throughout the tavern. But her words had a sort of power. Whenever the Sword Princess spoke, there was someone who was listening.

The entire bar went quiet as they all stared at her.

"…Would, what?" Tiona was the one to ask.

Aiz took her seat and continued her meal. Most of it had gone cold but she still enjoyed it. She made sure to keep her eyes locked on Bete. "Your question. If he asked, I would. He's… better."

No one said anything for a moment. The only sound being made was the clatter of utensils used by Aiz. The silence went on for a few minutes until…

"EHHHHHHHHH?!"

The entire _Loki Familia_ exploded as if her words had lit a fuse.

0-0-0

Eina checked her watch. It was a few minutes past nine when the rain started to pick up. She didn't bring an umbrella so she would need to either rent one from the Guild or share with another employee before she went home. Usually she would be home at this hour but the manager had asked her to stay for overtime in order to complete the paperwork that had accumulated.

…She really wanted to go home and finish the end of her book so to start the next volume by tomorrow. But that wasn't going to be.

"I know the festival is coming up and all…" Misha always found something to complain about. "But I wish the bosses would cut us some slack, you know? We aren't all as productive as you!"

"Misha, don't lean on me. You're getting in the way."

Misha giggled, "Eina, did you already finish your part for the festival? Did you put the file away— Hey, this is your new guy, isn't he!"

Before Eina could protest, Misha had snatched the top folder on a stack of many others just like it. The girl flipped it open and began to read it zealously.

"I was told to give an update to our team leader," Eina sighed as she swiveled around on her chair to better face her colleague. "I was just finishing the final touches."

"Wow! This guy has been an adventurer for only two weeks and he's already soloing the fifth floor?! This guys' incredible!"

"No, he's not," Eina said while swiping the file back. "He got cocky and wandered down there without conquering the other floors first. He got to the lower fifth on sheer dumb luck, and he nearly died there."

She sighed once more as she tucked the file into the drawer of her desk. The sigh came from the stress the new adventurer bestowed on her. She gave him advice and granted him a loan for his weapons and armor… only for him to charge in recklessly against forces he wasn't ready for yet. Honestly, each day was a headache with him. It's only been a short amount of time but she felt like she was going to get a gray hair soon.

"Ehhhhhh~" Misha leaned over again with her eyes narrowing and a smile creeping up. "Eina, you seem to worry over this one more than the other newbies. Does Eina Tulle fancy younger men?"

A brow was raised at this. Bell was like a little brother to her. The idea of fancying him never crossed her mind.

…But all of a sudden she remembered the previous morning. After she had given him advice and open information regarding Aiz Wallenstein, he thanked her and…

 _"Miss Eina, I love you!"_

"Spot on, yeah?" Misha's grin grew when Eina couldn't help but flush at the memory.

"No, I do not!" Eina protested… a little more than she should have. She didn't like it when others teased her. More than the usual person, anyhow. "Mister Cranell is _strictly_ my client. I do not fancy him anymore than you fancy your little brother."

Misha looked away, her hand over her lips. There was a hint of pink gracing her cheeks.

Eina's face burned like a tomato. Misha… and with her brother?!

…Some things are better left in the dark.

She pretended the last five minutes didn't happen.

"Neh, Eina, have you heard the latest rumor?" Misha spoke up. "I heard from Derek there are a couple of adventurers going into the dungeon without the blessings of a god."

Eina crossed her legs. "Yes, I've heard this rumor too."

"You don't think it's true, right? I mean, how can an adventurer battle monsters without a god's blessing?"

"It's not unheard of," Eina shrugged. "I heard once heroes used to traverse the Dungeon before the gods showed up. They were a lot more powerful back then compared to what they are now. But every now and then the Guild gets adventurers without a _familia._ If they are of the right age there's nothing we can do to impede them from entering. All we do for them is exchange their magic stones and items for val."

Misha put on a thoughtful look, "Yeah, I've heard and did business with a few of those. But get this, they say this group of godless adventurers have formed a band of their own."

Eina could only shrug. "It's better to go into the Dungeon with a party than soloing it, unlike a _certain someone_ I know. Rumors are just rumors, Misha. Until there's proof of these people you shouldn't talk about them any further. And even if it were true, it has nothing to do with us. If they do not seek the aid of the Guild we can't force them to accept our help."

Someone cleared their throat. Their boss was making rounds at desks and had spotted the two of them chatting. Misha scurried away to finish her work while Eina pulled out another file from her desk.

For a brief moment, she pondered what Bell was up to at this hour.

0-0-0

"Haaaaaaaaaaaa!"

He roared out in outrage and fury as he carved his way through another pack of monsters. Dire wolves moved in packs and were always nimble. They were clever creatures who moved in formations and could easily outsmart even the most veteran of adventurers. Many had died by their tactics.

Bell just plowed through them. When a wolf approached him he cut them down. They tried to surround him, tried to pin him down, tried to corner him.

And they tried to flee from him.

He cut them all down without hesitation. Their blood splattered over his clothes.

What floor was he on? He had lost track of his surroundings. His vision was nothing but red and white as he pushed himself harder. He needed to get stronger. He needed to gain as much experience as possible. So he dove straight into the Dungeon. He started at the fifth floor. He remembered clearing out the sixth, then seventh, and after that it was all just haze.

He noticed the mysterious woman from the Benevolent Mistress had followed him. She watched him work. She never said a word as she leaned against the wall while he cleared out a room or sprinted after him to see what he would do next.

Eventually she grew bored of this and joined him.

The dire wolves in this territory were now being led by a hellhound— a wolf that was made of charcoal and breathed fire. Together they cut through them with minimal ease. And eventually they dove deeper into the Dungeon to where there stopped being dire wolves. Now the labyrinth housed packs of hellhounds.

Her weapon was almost like his twin daggers. No, he was certain they were of the same origin. In her right hand was a katana and in her left was a dagger. He watched as, on occasion, she combined the two weapons together to form a double-sided staff.

He never asked what she was doing here. He wanted to be alone to hunt these monsters. He didn't even care how many crystals they were dropping. He cared when they dropped a weapon, though. His spare dagger had long broke in half and he was now fighting monsters with the remnants of a claw that cut against his palm.

She never said a word either. She mostly watched.

It wasn't until they found a break after clearing out another room did she do something. She reached into the inside of her coat, pulled something out, and tossed it over to him.

…It was a bone. A yellowed femur aged for quite some time. He didn't know what it was or why she had given it to him.

"Break it," she commanded. "Break it… and remember me, Bell Cranell."

She knew his name.

The first thing he would have done as ask for her name. But… he felt like he already knew what it was. He felt like he knew this woman though he could swear upon his life they had never met before. He would have always remembered someone as pretty as her.

He did as he was told. The femur was crushed in his iron grip.

 _Quickening._ It was a lost art. Something he had rediscovered and used heartily as it melded into his fighting style.

He had found it… where? What was the place he found the bones of an Old Hunter? A graveyard. But where was this graveyard? And he remembered… no, not remembered, _imagined_ a hair ornament. An umbilical cord resting at an altar. And… a doll.

But at what point had he been at that place? He couldn't have. He had lived in the small town up north living with his grandfather. And he had been living in Orario for nearly a year. He never visited a graveyard before. Even the tomb of his grandfather had just been a spot upon a hill.

"Do you remember, Bell Cranell?" the lady called out to him. "The Hunt? The Dream? Do you remember my name?"

He looked at her. _Looked_ at her like he had never done with anyone else. He had seen her face somewhere before. But at the same time he hadn't. Her face… was familiar and alien to him altogether.

And yet… he answered.

"M… Maria…"

She tipped her head, a hand on her chest with a slight bow. A Hunter's bow.

She dissolved into mist as she _quickened_ away from him.

"Wait!" he called out to her.

He leapt after her, sprinting as fast as he could. But it would be nowhere near enough. She was moving as fast as the wind and gaining distance. But she wanted him to chase after her. She reappeared every now and then to look over her shoulder to see if he was after her.

When he willed himself to chase after her, when he performed a feat he knew intimately as easily as breathing, he _quickened_ after her. His body zipped through the air as he moved too fast for normal eyes to perceive him.

They ignored the beasts of the Dungeon in their game of tag. Bell chased after this woman as she led him elsewhere. He didn't know where they were going. But he couldn't lose sight of her. Fragment images bombarded his consciousness. Memories, but not memories. Imaginations of his own creation and yet as potent as realism.

He pursued her until she stopped abruptly within a large chamber. He recognized it immediately for what it was. This room, large enough to fit a series of homes, was the lair of a boss.

The Dungeon had several floors. And each floor was divided by various rooms and winding pathways. But even floors had a certain type to them. These types were divided in sections with the strongest monsters within that territory acting as the guardian to the next area. That beast was called a boss.

Maria had led him to the chambers of the strongest Level One monster.

It came out of the ground, sensing their arrival. It was a hellhound unlike any other. A Hell Beast. Its skin was obsidian, it breathed fire, and spikes protruded all over its body instead of fur. The only weak spots to attack was its stomach and maw.

…It also had a pack of hellhounds of its own. They sprouted out of the ground when it howled, calling them out of their slumber.

Bell looked at the finger blade of a Wall Shadow. Its durability was dangerously low as he had been using it since floor… five? He didn't have a spare weapon. He'd be able to take on the hellhounds with it… but he highly doubted he could take on the Hell Beast. The thing would probably break trying to pierce its rocky hide.

Maria shrugged as if to say ' _oh well'._

This was… just as big of a learning experience for him. He should have been better prepared. He should have packed his twin daggers even if he was going into town for dinner. And now he was in the pit with no back up, no weapons, and no armor.

But the fire Bete had started continued to burn.

"Hhhhrrraaaaaaaa!"

Bell _quickened_ to them before they could finish surfacing. His body was a blur of mist and dust as he used the mystery of the Old Hunters to propel himself forward. The black blade he acquired from the severed remains of a Wall Shadow streaked across the air as he decapitated the nearest hellhound. It howled in pain and surprise as it dissolved into mist. Before its heart, the magic crystal, could land on the ground Bell was already moving to the next one.

The Hell Beast barked, sending a series of fireballs his way. But he swerved around them, sensing the danger before seeing the flash and feeling the heat. His body jerked away, more so hovering above the ground and always landing nimbly on his feet. He made sure to never duck or roll else absolutely necessary. He made sure to always stay on his feet. He was constantly moving, never in the same place too long.

The pack of hellhounds should have tried to flank him. But he was moving too fast. He was a blur to them. Left, he gutted two more. To the right, he cut one in half. At the far back, he crushed the skull of the last one with the heel of his boot.

Maria was clapping for him. Her blades were tucked into her belt while she stood in the far back of the chamber, watching his struggle casually.

The Hell Beast swerved out of the way, leaping back now that it was aware of his speed. But he _quickened_ after it, knowing better than to let it recover and gain a solid defense. He made sure to stay close to it, close enough to smell the rotten eggs stench of its sulfur.

He made sure to make the last strike of his weapon count. Before it broke in two, he wedged the finger blade right in the center of its eye.

The Hell Beast howled in pain and shook its head violently. Streams of fire jutted out of his maw but Bell made sure to cycle around it. It tried to run away, to try and gain distance. But always Bell _quickened_ after it. Without a weapon he couldn't do as much harm as he had liked.

He resorted to using his bare hands.

Maria clapped again as she watched him deliver a jaw-breaking right hook.

His hand flared up in pain as the spiked fur clipped against his knuckles, drawing blood. He didn't ignore it. He let the pain flare through him. It gave him strength. It powered the flame within him to defeat this beast and gather the experience.

He needed to get stronger!

The Hell Beast's maw hung open from a shattered jaw. Small pants and tongues of fire spat out of its mouth. It whimpered in pain as blood as bright as molten steel dripped out of its wounds.

But all beasts grow more rampant when pushed into a corner.

It spun its body around, using the last of its arsenal as a weapon— its fur. Bell _quickened_ away but had been clipped. A deep gash cut against his arm.

The Hell Beast charged right at him, running at full sprint with the intention of ramming him against the wall.

Once again, Bell _quickened_ to the side. The spiked fur narrowly missed him.

The beast swerved around. It shook its fur, letting the spikes expand. It had widened its window. It wouldn't let him escape so easily. The beast came at him again with everything it had.

Bell charged directly for it, knowing he wouldn't be able to dodge whatever direction he chose.

At the last instant, Bell fell to his knees, slid under the Hell Beast, and brought his leg up to kick it over his shoulder.

There had been more strength into the kick than he realized. He had gotten far stronger than he knew. The goddess never told him how high his stats had climbed. It wasn't his speed and senses alone that had reached new heights.

When he brought his boot up to its ribcage, he didn't push the creature. His boot tore straight through its soft underbelly. Heated blood burned his skin as it flowed out of the wound.

The Hell Beast howled its last before it exploded in an eruption of mist and blood. Its magic crystal and a heart black as charcoal were the last of its remains.

Bell panted as he rose to his feet. He panted from the adrenaline rushing through him and as it started to calm down. His legs felt like mush after using _quickening_ a number of times. But he wiped the burning blood off of him and took a few steps forward to gather his spoils.

A dagger landed right before the tip of his boot. Maria's dagger.

She was pacing towards him. The first half of her weapon was drawn, the katana.

"You still don't remember the Dream, Bell Cranell?" she said to him as she approached him. "Do you not remember the secrets you tore from us? Do you not remember the Hunt and what it robbed of the innocent? Do you not remember me, Good Hunter?"

"…Who are you?" he asked. "You know what's going on, don't you? I shouldn't have been able to fight any of these monsters! I'm still only a Level One adventurer! I've only been at it for two weeks!"

"A corpse should be left well alone," she answered in a cold voice. She brought her weapon over her head and got in a stance. She meant to cut him down no matter what he did. "I know how the secrets beckon so sweetly. Only an honest death will cure you now—"

"Liberate you from your wild curiosity…" he muttered words that popped inside his head. Words he could remember as clear as day but could not remember where he had heard them.

Maria tipped her head once more. Conviction shone in her eyes.

The bloodlust came next.

Bell bent down and picked up the dagger she had offered him. She could have cut him down whenever she wanted. But she wanted an _honest death_ from him. She offered him a chance for him to defend himself. Who was this woman? What did she want with him? And how was it she knew about him?

And how did he know her name?

He wanted to ask her these questions but knew she wouldn't answer any of them. His only choice was to converse using the blade.

He couldn't afford to drop his guard around this woman. He could feel her murderous intent bear down on him like a physical weight. It crushed down on his shoulders. He would not deny he was terrified of this woman. She was a murderer. She had killed many before. He was nothing more than a rabbit before a starved wolf.

But… he knew how to confront that fear. He knew how to turn it into strength.

He remembered a smile. A smile belonging to the goddess who granted the gift to face his fears. The words of encouragement she offered that gave him the strength to face the perils of the Dungeon.

There was no trigger. No sign.

They both _quickened._ Steel clashed as the two Hunters danced around in a blur of steel, blood, and mist.

0-0-0

Hestia's irritation was quickly becoming worry. She had left Bell alone in the evening, annoyed with how he had gotten so strong thanks to his latest crush. She was more annoyed with herself because it wasn't her who had given the boy this power. It was someone else.

Bell wasn't home when Hestia returned from her drinking party. That was midnight. She thought Bell would be waiting up for her and would greet her. But he wasn't home. So she decided to turn in for the night anyways. But… it wasn't as if she could sleep. Her mind demanded she stay awake, _pretending_ to sleep so she could catch whenever Bell decided to return home. Several hours had passed since then.

Dawn was about to approach and Bell had yet to return home.

She began to fret. At first she feared something bad had happened to him. She wondered at first he had gotten involved with the wrong crowds, had overindulged in booze or drug, and was in bed with some prostitute. It happens. Especially to someone as young and naïve as her Bell.

Or… if he had gotten mugged and was left for dead in an alleyway. The thought made Hestia's blood run cold. And after she had said such horrible things about him at the party…

Worse! Bell had given up on her! He had gotten tired of her poor treatment. She was a sad excuse of a goddess who gave him shitty room, scraps for food, and now mistreatment. Twice she denied him his status updates and she left with a few harsh words.

He probably had enough of her. He was the one who was always taking care of her, not the other way around like how it was supposed to be. She was a worthless goddess and he was an aspiring adventurer. It was likely he ran off to search for a new _familia._ He could do it too. Now that he was a little more experienced there would be more teams out there willing to take him in.

She began to panic. She couldn't accept that. Tears began to fall down her face at the thought of it. Having a crush for another woman she could live with. But if Bell left because of _her_ insecurities then it would break her heart.

Hestia gathered her coat and ran out the door when dawn cracked a peek over the horizon. She would search endlessly throughout all of Orario for Bell. Even if it meant he had joined another team. She would beg for his forgiveness and give him _anything_ to come back to her. She loved Bell. She couldn't live without him.

It didn't even take a minute for her to find him. Newfound tears rolled down her cheeks at the sight of him. Bell was coming back home. He was up the road, limping and bleeding.

Oh praise be to the Upper World he was only mugged! He didn't abandon her!

"Bell!" she shouted and ran up to him. He gave her a weak smile before she caught him as he fell to his knees in exhaustion. "Bell! What happened to you?! Were you mugged?!"

"Goddess… I'm sorry…" he said in a quiet voice. "I went into the Dungeon."

It took her a minute to consider what he just said. "The… The Dungeon?! Are you crazy?! You have no armor and your weapons were here!"

…His weapons were still at the church. Oh what a fool she was. If he had _really_ left her then he would have taken all of his gear with him. She should have known her Bell wouldn't leave her like that.

"I'm sorry…" he said again.

She couldn't berate him. She wanted to… but the sweet relief of him returning home soothed her heart. She made a promise to herself. She would do everything in her power to make sure he remained in her _familia._

"Let's get you inside and cleaned up," she said. She had to walk on the balls of her feet in order to support his height. If only she had a few inches on her. "After you shower I'll treat your wounds. That gash on your leg looks pretty bad."

It had been a struggle getting him into the washroom. Had there been better circumstances she would have enjoyed scrubbing his nude body. It could have been the bloodloss or the exhaustion that kept him from minding her. He just sat on the stool and let her do all the work.

His wounds dressed and him in a new pair of clothes, she helped him to the bed. "Bell, tonight you're sleeping on the bed. No buts about it."

"…Yes, goddess," he said through droopy eyes.

"But… I'll be sleeping in the same bed. I'm exhausted from going out and looking for you, you know? You wouldn't refuse, would you?"

…There was only a little bit of guilt in her words. Only a little. It wasn't a complete lie. She _was_ tired after staying up through the night waiting for him.

"You must be tired too…" he said as he took his seat on the bed. He still had the strength to give her that heart wrenching smile of his. "Sure. Let's sleep together."

He leaned back and laid flat on the bed. His eyes were shut as his breathing changed. He was out cold.

Hestia's face flushed as she watched his sleeping form. A bit of blood leaked out of her nose. This was it. This was the perfect opportunity. Bell was on _her bed,_ asleep, **defenseless.** Sure, she could have taken advantage of him on the sofa, but how romantic was a sofa? No, no, no. The bed was the ideal place to be for sexually assaulting her sleeping tenant.

Snuggling. She decided. Her first step was to snuggle with Bell. And then she would brave her way up to cuddling. And… if she was feeling dangerous… maybe some nuzzling.

She put on her game face. She lifted his legs onto the bed, turned him around, and snuck next to him on the other side. With the glowing eyes of a predator finding their prey at the dead of night, Hestia leaned her chest against his, wrapped a leg around his waist, and brought her arm to the top of his chest.

But she stopped, her eyes widening like a caught deer. Bell fidgeted in his sleep. At first he began to whimper like how he had the previous night. And then… the tiniest name could be heard.

"…M… Ma… Maria…"

She froze.

 _Who the_ _ **fuck**_ _is Maria?!_

0-0-0

"You're the last to arrive, did you know that?"

Maria scorned this crazed man. She didn't dare look at him else encourage him to pester her some more. But… courtesies had to be respected. "I've been out on the Hunt."

"Ahhhhh…?" Micolash fiddled with his fingers as he eyed her. "Out this late, were we? Then I trust your Hunt bore fruit this time?"

She walked past him, entering the abode. He followed right behind her. "I found a Hunter."

"Yes, yes, of course," Micolash urged her to continue.

"A woman. An elf. I will be watching her closely. Do not intrude on my mark."

"A woman?! Bah!" And all of a sudden he lost interest. "Did you not forget we are looking for a young boy? What business do we have with the other rejected Hunters?"

Good. It hadn't been a lie when Maria claimed to have found another marked Hunter. That girl at the tavern had been to the Dream, Maria was sure of it. But she was the one who have found Bell Cranell. She would do well to hide his existence from the others as long as possible.

Bell was her mark. She will have her vengeance upon him before any of the others could.

"You have your duties," she reminded Micolash with a sharp tongue. "We have ours."

"Hmm… Yes, of course," Micolash's lips pressed tight as he fiddled with his fingers some more. "Master Ludwig and Master Logarius have uncovered another level of the Dungeon. It bears no fruit, I'm afraid. But… can you hear it? The song? We're getting closer."

She didn't respond.

Micolash cut in front of her before she could turn to the hallway that would lead to her chambers, "Ah, ah, ah!" he wagged his finger. "Not so fast, not so fast! Lord Oedon wished to have a word with you."

Maria nearly lost her composure. "Is that so…? Whatever for?"

"I do not presume to understand the intentions of an Old One, and neither should you. Best to not keep her waiting! You know how she can be with the whole… _wrath_ thing."

Micolash cackled aloud as he turned his back to her and strolled away.

Her hand was on the hilt of her Rakuyo. It'd be so easy to cut him down right now.

But Oedon wouldn't be pleased. The Old One had brought them all into this Waking World for a reason. They each had a purpose and were vital to the cause… whatever that may be.

Just as half of the division was tasked with hunting Bell Cranell, the other half were tasked to uncover the eldritch truth at the bottom of the Dungeon.

Maria let her irritation wash away. She needed to absolve herself of all emotion else let the most dangerous of the Old Ones walk all over her.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: I wanted to cover all of Monsterphilia but decided to cut it short. Next chapter, and all that.**

 **So, I made a few mistakes and would like to point them out. Feel free to do the same as well.**

 **Bete isn't a prum. I thought the prum were the animal people... until I found out they are the chibi people. So Bete isn't a "wolf-prum" he is a wolf-person. The only prum in Team Loki is their captain, Flynn.**

 **The minotaur that attacked Bell was supposed to be found on the seventeenth floor (says the book; fifteen in the anime for some reason).**

 **In regards to Bell's stat sheet... I've no idea. Honestly. Bloodborne stats and DanMachi stats are a little different. There's also taking into consideration on how powerful Bell should be. He needs to be ridiculously strong in order to defeat the gods in Bloodborne as well as the Hunters. Now, as a player we can do that at level 80 (the average). But as a real person going against eldritch monsters and experienced people who lived for YEARS doing this? While Bell has only had a single night?**

 **Yeah, there's a bit to take into consideration. But, for sure, he's strong and skilled enough to take on any of the Hunters- *coughoneononecough***

 **Now, I don't plan on explaining anything in my notes. If I have to, then it means I've failed as a writer. Any explanation (and answer to your questions) will be found in the narration.**

 **Without further ado, ON WITH THE SHOW!**

* * *

Usually, the Guild was empty in the early mornings. The members would spend this time finishing paperwork they neglected the night before, clean their workspace, and make preparations for the hoard of adventurers that would be coming within the afternoon. Adventurers rarely had any business this early in the morning with the Guild unless it was to speak with one of the advisers directly. Most adventurers were on their way to the Dungeon.

Still, the Guild was busy with those few exceptions.

But there was one section of the main building that was scarcely used at this hour. To the side was the Exchange, where adventurers could trade in the findings of magic stones and drop items for val. At this hour, where hardly an adventurer has returned except those who have been gone for expeditions and raids, only one station was open. And the clerk working behind it was occupying his time by reading the morning newspaper.

"Excuse me, are you open at this hour?"

Nameless Banker-A— let's call him Abe for this conversation— became flustered as he lowered the print to peer over at who surprised him. Abe was only human but had once belonged to a familia long ago— there was a dark history in him that forced him to retire early, become a law-abiding citizen, and join the Guild. One of his skills involved heightened hearing.

This woman shouldn't have snuck up on him like that so easily. He could hear the conversations between an adviser and an adventurer at the other end of the building towards the lounge. Footsteps echoed on the marbled floors. There was some deep magic lining the building that alerted everyone on the presence of another so to avoid any confusion… or burglary.

"Yes, of course," he cleared his throat and folded his newspaper neatly to the side. "Registration, please?"

The woman bowed her head, making sure to keep her eyes locked on his. "I'm no part of any _familia._ I am no adventurer. I understand the Guild deals with adventurers only and I'd like to ask if I could donate this exchange to a particular _familia_."

Abe blinked, a very slow and calculated blink. It was very rare for anyone to come and do this. Usually adventurers were so uptight about receiving money. Why, the _Soma Familia_ lately had been arguing with the Guild over the transactions and Abe had seen them fighting amongst themselves over the earnings. It was certainly a nice change of pace to see someone being charitable.

"So long as it is registered by the Guild your request can be made," he answered. "There will be a small fee for the service, however. Name of the _familia_?"

" _Hestia Familia,_ " she answered while unlatching the satchel at her side.

While he pulled out the appropriate notes and scribbled the required details, his sharp ears heard the small squeal of surprise coming from Eina's desk.

Abe nodded and slid the drawer under the barred window towards the woman. He gestured for her to put whatever she wished to transfer into the box. It was filled to the brim with a number of magic stones and monster remains. He drew it back and emptied the contents. The skill from his former _familia_ permitted him to appraise the value of each item that corresponded with today's economic demand.

There were a number of things from her small bag— one of those magic bags enchanted with storage space exceeding its outside dimensions. It took three times for her to empty everything out.

"50,350 val is your total," he turned back to her. "34,890 if you wish to preserve the monster drop items. Five percent will be taken for the Guild, regardless."

"Sell it all," she said while placing her trihorned hat back on. She was ready to depart.

"Do you wish to be anonymous?" he asked next while scribbling on the note.

"Maria," she tipped her hat in thanks. "And may you leave a note? Please tell him not to forget his things next time."

Abe nodded, thanked her for her business, and wished her a fortuitous day— all courtesies he had shared for decades while in business with the Guild. It had been branded into his core. He made sure to watch her leave. _Strange._ Now he could hear her footsteps but there was the way she walked that put him on edge. It was as if she was purposely making sound to make a show out of it.

He swiveled around in his seat and presented the note for Eina, who he expected to show up at his desk as soon as the woman was gone. "Here. The boy of the _Hestia Familia_ is your client, correct?"

"…Yes, he is," Eina adjusted her glasses as she read the contents of the exchange. "I don't think I've ever seen that woman before. What _familia_ is she a part of?"

"None," he answered while turning back to his newspaper. "She's not registered by the Guild. Said she wasn't an adventurer either. Be careful where you tread, Ms. Tulle. It's not our job to pry into the personal affairs of our clients."

"…Yes, you're right," she nodded and tucked the note into the clipboard she always kept. "Thank you, Abe. I'll take over the rest from here."

He said nothing else as he went back to the big highlight of the week. The newspaper was warning citizens of Orario about a murderer on the loose. The victims were always animal-people. Nothing unique— Abe had seen this before. A good decade ago it was the elves who were targeted— that murderer had been caught. And a few years back it was adventurers in general— that one hadn't been caught. Discrimination was always going to be a thing.

There was a reason why Abe worked at the Guild. His _familia_ wasn't entirely the most… friendly. He was once one of the best among them but things were getting too hot when he drew blood for them. He managed to break free with only a few scars. That had been decades ago and, unfortunately, his _familia_ had never changed their ways.

…Until the Crow came and wiped them all out. God and all.

0-0-0

Before, she thought she made a mistake in the ritual. But after repeating her performance numerous times she found out she made no mistake. Bell's status had ascended to dizzying levels. Somehow, in some way that defied logic, he had advanced with such power it didn't make sense.

Come the next day, as she decided to update his status after he plowed through the Dungeon _like an idiot,_ a new wave of vertigo slammed into her.

 _These numbers don't make sense!_

Now the system was messing with her. This was too much. This was impossible!

The numbers continued to climb. Not as in they had gotten higher after his exploits down in the dungeon. She meant as in, right now as she sat on his tush, they were changing right before her eyes. They were counting upwards as if on a timer.

Could it really be because of the _Realis Phase_ skill?

 _Realis Phase_ was the skill Bell had acquired after he had ran into Aiz Whateverthehell. It was a unique ability that tremendously enhanced the amount of experience he could obtain so long as he had the desire to grow. The value also varied depending on how strong that desire was. In short, if he _really_ wanted to get stronger for that Sword Princess, the _Realis Phase_ would abide by his wishes and multiply his experience points accordingly.

Bell was an adventurer who could ascend to the top tier…

No, cold sweat brushed through her. He _had_ ascended to the top tier.

Bell was impossibly powerful. His agility reading was already in the SS rank!

There was also something that didn't make sense to her. His magic rank had always been at zero, which was quite common among adventurers. But the class title had changed.

It read: arcane.

Arcane. As in… the divine authority of the gods?! No, no, she tried to assure herself. It was a simple fluke. A convenience of words. Arcane _couldn't_ be the same as a god's Arcanum.

Regardless, there it was. And it was at D rank… having shot all the way from the lowly I rank.

What's more, Bell had acquired a new skill. Magic, by the looks of it. And, as she read further, it seemed to be a trigger-type spell casting. Meaning, he didn't need to chant to use it. He had access to it whenever he wanted.

 _Quickening,_ it read. It allowed him to dramatically enhance the speed in which he moved for only the short burst of an instant. The value depended on his agility stat but it could be used repeatedly.

Too much. He was growing too powerful and she didn't know what was causing this. The numbers had finally settled and when they did… they almost seemed to lock in place. They wouldn't budge any further.

They even turned a nasty red color instead of black. The hieroglyphs had changed colors to fit the numbers.

"Goddess…?" he called out to her. "Is everything alright? You've been making some noises and it's making me worried."

Hestia let out a breath of air. It did nothing to calm her nerves. She pulled the sheet of paper off his back and pulled it up for him to read. She did, however, hide the _Realis Phase_ skill from him. It wouldn't do him any good to learn about that yet. "Bell… we need to talk."

They sat together at the couch. She waited patiently while his eyes traced over the stat sheet she had given him that reported the efforts of his performance. He laughed at first, thinking it had been a mistake or if she was playing a prank on him. Eventually the reality of the situation started to sink in and she watched him start to shake.

"I… I don't understand," he said.

"You and me both," she sighed alongside him.

Inwardly, she was trying her hardest not to cry. This wasn't fair. It was all because of that _Realis Phase._ She thought it was just a harmless crush with Aiz Wallenstein. But… after seeing him return bloody and broken from the dungeon, she had to face facts.

Bell was in love with this woman. Madly so if he had thrown himself into the Dungeon without his armor and weapons. And if _Realis Phase_ enhanced his growth based on his desires… it meant Bell valued Aiz more than she had anticipated.

He loved Aiz more than he loved Hestia. She wanted to be the one who made Bell grow like this. But instead… it was the charm of another woman.

And look at how far he had grown.

"Bell, I don't know what's going on," she swallowed her emotions in order to be his goddess. She needed to set one thing straight with him for his own good. "But it's clear you've jumped leaps and bounds with your abilities. I don't think there's another adventurer like you."

He nodded, his attention locked on hers without any distraction.

" _However,_ " she poked his chest and couldn't stress the word any further. "Just because you're stronger doesn't make up for your lack of skill. You might have the power of a top-tier adventurer but that doesn't mean you can compete against them. They have been through the Dungeon much longer than you do. They have experience. You've only been down there for two weeks."

He nodded again, acknowledging this fact without argument.

Bell wasn't prideful or arrogant. He knew his faults, accepted mistakes, and was humble enough to learn from them. He listened to his goddess dutifully.

"You have the instinct to be a good adventurer," she pressed on. "The best even. I think this growth spurt is something of a gift. But it's no better than a weapon, do you understand, Bell? Even the best weapons are lame in the hands of someone unskilled. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

He nodded his head vigorously this time. Those innocent eyes of his _did_ understand the issue she was trying to press.

"I want you to get stronger, Bell," she said in a low voice this time. "No, you will get stronger. And I will be here to support you. I will encourage you. But, I want you to promise me something."

He said nothing. Those red orbs of his bore into hers.

Her eyes bored back into his. "Don't repeat the same thing you did the other night. I want you to swear you will _never_ do something as careless as that again. No matter how high those stats say, Bell, even the best adventurers will fall if they are crass. So… please, don't do something like that again.

"Please don't leave me alone."

It was all she could ask from him. She believed in Bell. She knew this power could get to his head if she kept silent. Even if… Even if he was in love with someone else. So long as she knew Bell was safe she could live with herself. She'd never forgive herself if Bell wound up dead because he thought he was invincible.

"…I promise," he bowed his head in fealty, in gratitude, and in apology. He truly felt guilty for making her worry so much.

She believed him. She knew he would never make the same mistake twice. He would take better care of himself from this point on.

"I won't do that again," he said, looking up at her. "I'll do my best to get stronger! But I will not leave you behind or make you worry. You will not be alone."

She couldn't help but smile. The look in his eyes could sweep her off her feet.

…She resisted the urge to pin him down and go to town on him.

"I'm glad to hear that," her smile increased. "I can relax now."

They were quiet for a moment. Hestia watched him as his eyes skimmed over the stat sheet once more. Something wasn't right. It felt like… he had already known about this growth. No, that couldn't have been it. His reaction was genuine and Bell couldn't keep a secret to save his life (which was why she hid _Realis Phase_ from him— who knew what the gods would do if they found out). But, watching him right now, his expression had gone from focused to somber.

He knew something, or at least had an inkling on what it could be. But to ask him about it might have her mention his secret skill. And that was a can of worms she didn't want to get into.

"Bell, I've been meaning to ask," something else drew her attention. Her eyes shifted over to the small pile in the corner where Bell kept his things. "Where did you get those daggers from? I hope you didn't do anything bad. They look expensive."

"Eh?!" As expected, he freaked out. "I would never do anything wrong! I promise, goddess!"

She eyed him, "…Then where did you get them?"

He opened his mouth to answer, but the answer fell short. He blinked, his brows scrunched in confusion. He looked cute with the way he scratched his head. She had half a mind to draw whiskers on his cheek and he'd look just like an adorable bunny.

"They were… just there," he answered. "I, um, was in the dungeon when the minotaur attacked. I was as— t-taking a rest. And when I got up they were there on my person. Honest…"

He was _asleep_?! In the Dungeon?! No wonder the minotaur attacked him!

She decided to ignore the comment. No need to bring it up. He learned his mistake and they would move on. For now, she needed to know where he got those blades. It could have been possible another adventurer had given them to him while he was 'resting'. But… why? They really did look expensive and no adventurer worth his salt would just hand them over to a newbie.

"Bell, you're not planning on going into the dungeon for a while, are you?" she asked. An idea had popped inside her head. "Do you mind if I borrow those blades for a day or two?"

"…Goddess is someone harassing you at your job?"

"N-No!" she shouted. Though… there was that old guy who kept trying to touch her butt. That wasn't the point. "I was thinking about getting them appraised. I don't feel comfortable about you using faulty equipment. They could break while you're down in the Dungeon for all we know."

It was a terrible lie. Deceptive, sure, but terrible. Then again, Bell trusted her _entirely._ She could say the sky was falling and he'd scramble in a panic.

Hmm… she wondered if she could use a similar tactic to convince him to lay with her. The world was coming to an end and the only way to save it was for them to become the beast of two backs, that whole scenario.

Anyways, there was some truth to her explanation. She _did_ want them appraised. But mostly to know who the original adventurer was who dropped them. Or any other valuable information she could grab. It would do no good to find out those blades belonged to the head of some crime syndicate or the adventurer to an unsavory _familia._

"W-Well…" Bell rubbed his leg and winced a little. She had bandaged it tight and it would be sore for the next few days. "I'm in no condition to go into the deeper levels. But I should still make some money for us. We don't have enough saved to feed us for the week. I should at least go into the starting levels…"

 _I'm sorry, Bell,_ she sobbed inside her head. What a terrible goddess she was. Her adorable Bell was forced to work for their sake while he was still injured. All because she couldn't afford to properly provide for them.

"I still have the main dagger I bought from the Guild," he pointed to the sheathed dagger resting on top of the dresser. "That'll be good enough for some goblins and cobals."

"Good, then I'll be taking them with me!" she shot up from the couch and went immediately to the back room.

There was a small kitchen there. Very small. In fact, it couldn't even be considered a kitchen. But it was where they warmed their meals over a small furnace— she planned on using this to cuddle together once winter arrived. But in the cupboards, besides the pots, was where she kept her most prized possessions… which wasn't much. Beneath a few scraps of paper, emergency money, and (somewhat) rare jewels was a neat envelope that more than likely cost more than everything in the box combined. Which saddened her.

It was an invitation to a Celebration of the Gods.

Without a doubt her dearest friend Hephaestus will be there. The goddess of the forge would surely be able to give a worthy appraisal to Bell's newest weapons. As the head of the largest smithing business in all of Orario, Hephaestus should have networks open for Hestia to find the originator of those blades.

Now… if only she could afford a dress for the gathering. The nicest thing she owned would make her a laughing stock before those egotistical gods.

…It'll have to do. She'll bear the humiliation for Bell's sake.

0-0-0

Lyu Lion was busy sweeping the floor with Anya when that adventurer showed up at their doorstep.

She knew him. Truth be told she never met him before. Sure, her experience had marked him as an adventurer she had seen in passing on his way to the Dungeon but she never knew his name. Her mind had recorded his path and schedule just as she had with everyone else who passed by the Benevolent Mistress. So to say more accurate, she knew of him but didn't know him personally.

Having that said… upon seeing his face something swam through her intuition. It told her she _knew_ him.

It was something in the back of her mind. An alien and familiar sensation that conflicted with her. And that in itself was comforting yet alarming. Yet another oxymoron.

Because anything relating to this feeling had something to do with _that dream._

"It's the dine-and-dash from before!" Anya pointed accusingly at him, though there was nothing malicious in her tone. It was like she was tattling on him. "The one Syr invited nyand then abandoned her at the table, nya! The white-haired kid! Nya!"

"You will be silent," Lyu told her. It wasn't a warning. It wasn't a command. It was a simple truth and only the most foolish would dare to oppose reality.

The boy bowed while muttering, "I-Is Syr Flover here? And the manager?"

Lyu studied him (while ignoring the complaints from her coworker over the exaggeration of having a concussion). She wasn't sure how she knew this boy. But…

"You plan on going to the Dungeon?" she asked mildly. Her eyes locked on the various places he could have hidden a weapon and found them to be… lacking. "Were you not better equipped the other day?"

He blinked at her. He wasn't confused, simply mildly surprised at her attention to detail. She had noticed he was missing those twin blades. "Oh, um, my goddess went to get them appraised. I'm fine. I have a spare and I don't plan on going too deep in the Dungeon. Um… about Syr and the manager…?"

Lyu nodded and went to go retrieve the madam. However… it irked her how those blades were no longer in his grasp. Why, she didn't know. It simply felt like in the hands of someone else those blades didn't belong. They suited Mister Cranell rightly so—

Her footing nearly slipped. Masterfully, she continued to walk without missing a beat. No one had noticed.

…Why did she know his name? Hmm. She must have heard it in passing from Syr. The girl did talk about him nonstop when she braved herself enough to talk to him. Mister Cranell had her attention for quite some time, after all.

0-0-0

Bell cried as he cut into a goblin. It wasn't because he felt sorry for the creature. No, if anything, he was relieved it was dead. He had a sort of traumatic experience with goblins when he was a child so there was something therapeutic when he slew them.

He was crying because he was broke.

The _Hestia Familia_ had more than enough money to last the end of the week. But… he told his goddess otherwise (and crying hysterically afterwards for betraying her trust) because he needed to be responsible for his actions and face the music.

He returned to the Benevolent Mistress, paid for the tab he left open after running away the other night, and apologized profusely for his embarrassment.

He probably owed Syr his life. Mama Mia would have skinned him alive if Syr hadn't said anything to defend him. Instead, the manager had settled on waiting a few days for Bell to show up— which he did. Had he been a day shorter and he would have been a smear on the wall for sure.

In the end, Mama Mia had given him sound advice. _He was victorious if he returned alive._ He could resonate with that. No matter what that wolf-person said, if he returned from the Dungeon with his skin intact, he could consider himself lucky. Little by little he would press forward until he could stand beside Aiz Wallenstein.

Syr had also given him her lunch. Despite the embarrassment he caused her, she was still cheering him on. He shed heavy tears while eating the delicious rations of bread and cheese.

There was little he could do in the upper levels of the dungeon. Even with a damaged leg he was running in circles around the monsters. A part of him was impatient and wanted to go deeper, to push himself and get stronger quickly. But… the words of his goddess rang inside his head. He needed to temper himself and move at a steady pace. His injuries could turn for the worse and he would be stranded, surrounded by monsters he couldn't defend against.

Which was why before noon he decided to turn back to empty his backpack. While it was enchanted to handle more than it appeared, the weight still accumulated and too much would have it tearing apart. His newfound strength threw him off. The bag was significantly lighter than he remembered but his routine told him this amount of stones was the bag's limit.

He received a very feeble amount of val from the Exchange. Enough to buy a meal or two. Three if he survived off of bread alone. Well, it was still early in the day. He could make about two more rounds before he retired for dinner.

"Ah, Bell, over here."

Eina had spotted him right before he was about to leave the Guild. She was waving at him to come to her as she used the swinging door in the corner to meet with him. She had a bundle of papers tucked under her arm— which wasn't rare to see but odd anyways because she usually placed them on her desk. They moved together towards the couches which was used for conversing with advisers or for adventurers to wait for appointments.

…Had he known Eina would meet with him, he'd have used the showers at the base of Babylon Tower. He hoped she couldn't smell him as he sat across of her.

"We had an interesting guess early this morning as soon as we opened," she began, pulling out one sheet of paper from the bile in her arms. She pressed it against the table between them and slid it forward. "She came to make a donation to your _familia._ "

"...Eh?" he blinked and reached for the document. Most of it was a bunch of jumbo he couldn't understand— Guild regulations and conditions with details only they could understand. But there was some he could get the gist of. "Ehhhhhh?!"

Like the number at the bottom of the page. It was a sum total of val he and his _familia_ would receive thanks to the gratuitous patronage of a…

"Lady Maria did this?" he whispered after reading the given name of his patron.

"It's quite the benevolent gesture," Eina mentioned, her eyes watching his reaction. "It's Guild policy not to inquire about your personal life, Bell. But… as your advisor I'd like to ask anyways. The woman earlier stated she wasn't an adventurer and didn't belong to a _familia._ It raises the question how she was able to gather the magic stones and drop items."

He read the note at the bottom. He couldn't help but smile nervously. "Lady Maria is a good person… I think. She did go out of her way to do this…"

This amount… She must have gathered the magic stones after he rampaged through the lower floors and fought the Monster Rex, Hell Beast. It was a lot of money. Well… he did slay a lot of beasts in the Dungeon. He wondered how long it took for her to gather this amount. He didn't think she had something like a supporter with her.

"I can't accept this," he sighed with a heavy heart. It was _a lot_ of money. That amount would be able to give him and his goddess better food and clothes. He'd be able to treat her to a night at a decent restaurant instead of scraps for once. But… the money wasn't his. He was the one who didn't bother to pick it up.

"Unfortunately there's no way to get in contact with this person," Eina stated. "Regardless, by the end of the day the money will be transferred over to you. It would be up to you to decide what to do with it."

He sagged in his seat. That didn't help one bit. He would now be tempted to spend the money. Maybe he should place it in a special account while giving Eina the key, telling her not to give it to him no matter what. She wouldn't be able to do it as a Guild representative… but maybe as a friend?

"Bell, I must ask how you are acquainted with this character," Eina spoke up with a strict tone. "You seem to know her quite well. I hope she's not taking advantage of you in any way."

There was a look in her eyes that suggested something more.

Bell might look innocent, he was more good natured than anything else. He was more than aware of the vices of the world, including and especially the charms and appeal of a woman. Maria was _very_ pretty. She was an older woman who dressed in riches and moved like a goddess herself. Having her come in and offering him, a young boy, money via 'donation' could be misled as something else.

His face was steaming. He waved his hands in denial, "N-N-No! It's not like that, Miss Eina! You're guess is as good as mine!"

He really had no idea why Maria would go out of her way like this. He thought they were enemies, or something similar to. But… she gave him the bone that rekindled his _Quickening_ ability. At the same time, she led him to the lair of a boss and watched him fight it without bothering to step in. And in the end she clashed against him and left him bleeding.

She didn't kill him. She left disappointed, making a comment about him needing to remember her…

How _exactly_ did he know her? He never met her before. Could she have been a friend of his grandfather…?

As he sat there trying to figure it out, his mind drew into a blank. A darkness. Something whispered to him— a memory just beyond him but one he could glimpse at if he reached for it.

He remembered a clock tower just beyond the garden, past the atrocity he had to navigate through. The room within was empty save for a lone chair and a stand beside it. And there, slouched over in the chair, lifeless, was a corpse.

"A corpse should be left well alone," he muttered as he struggled to remember the rest. The words simply appeared in his head and he couldn't help but repeat them. They were the same words Maria had said to him. Beyond that, he couldn't remember anything else.

Eina cocked a brow at his statement. It was an odd choice of words for his character and she mistook it as his reply. She nodded, the smallest grimace distorting her pretty face, and adjusted her glasses. "I'll trust your judgement, Bell. I'm sorry to have taken so much of your time."

"N-No," he waved her off. "I'm glad you're worrying about me, Miss Eina. It means I have a good advisor. I'm going back to the Dungeon now."

They departed after that. Bell let out a weary sigh as he trekked back to Babylon Tower. Eina would have had a heart attack if he told her about his skirmish against Maria down in the… what floor was he on anyhow? Eh, Eina would have had a heart attack again after learning he had gone past the fifth floor. She'd have given him a scolding about taking better care of himself.

He rubbed his leg. It was still sore.

…With that money he could take a rest for the week. But it wasn't his money, he thought. And without it he couldn't afford to feed himself. So, with another weary sigh, he made his way back to the Dungeon.

0-0-0

The _Ganesha Familia_ was housed in the upper district of Orario, preferably right beside the entertainment boulevard. Ganesha was the god of the masses and loved to be at the center of attention. Hence forth why he spent the majority of his team's finances into creating a giant statue in his likeness for all to see. Many of his children cried knowing all of their hard-earned cash had been spent on something so… extravagant.

Even worse, no one could get into the main building without having to go through the statue. The idol of Ganesha sat with folded legs at the top of a grand stairway. The main doors were right where its crotch had been. Even the gods attending this celebration paused in their tracks and wondered if it was worth the party to enter this way.

Some turned back and returned home.

Nameless _Ganesha Familia_ Member-Q52— his name shall henceforth be Quinn— did not blame any of the guests from turning back. The Ascension of Humility (as his teammates would call it) had repelled the most of them. He almost wanted to tell the guests about the backdoor. But… Ganesha pressed it was for exclusive use of the caterers and those of the _familia._ It might have been humiliating having to enter through the employee entrance, but it was better than going through their patron god's crotch.

Quinn watched a series of gods arrive for this Celebration. Each one trying to be more extravagant than the last… with the exception of the poor gods. No, even the poor ones held their heads up high and walked with a grace that proved they were a breed above humanity.

…Until they saw the door at the crotch.

He wondered if Ganesha did this on purpose to have a good laugh.

A carriage pulled up at the bottom of the steps. Nothing unusual. The carriage was made out of black oak and decorated with gold and red velvet. There was no sigil branded on it, however. He couldn't tell which _familia_ this belonged to.

…What was most strange were the horses. Or the lack of. There were holsters and reigns that simply floated in space where two horses would be normally. He saw them flap around, almost seeing in his mind's eye an invisible horse shaking its head after the reins had been pulled and the carriage came to a stop.

There was no driver. The reins were suspended in air and then placed down by an invisible force. The coacher who rode shotgun leapt down, adjusted his suit and pulled his gloves, and walked with the grace of a ghost towards the carriage's door.

…There was no head on the man. He wore an extravagant suit befitting his status as the servant of a wealthy master. Rather, it was more like the suit itself was animated and there was nothing inside. He watched with amazement as the coacher adjusted his top hat and monocle, making sure he was presentable before opening the door.

He half expected the god within to be invisible. What he saw instead was just as startling.

She appeared normal at first. A maiden goddess with flawless skin, rosy cheeks, large eyes, and golden hair. Her clothes were modest in comparison to the coacher.

But as she started to ascend the stairway, Quinn began to notice the things… off about her.

Her skin was _too_ smooth. And not in the divine way the gods had been made. Her skin was artificial. No, not skin. He realized her face was molded porcelain, polished and coated to look like human skin at a distance. There were also stains implanted to give her an almost natural blush.

Her hands weren't gloved. He could see the joints and gaps within.

This was… a doll. An animated doll.

"Good evening," she said with a monotone voice. No emotion whatsoever. Even some of the gods who were entirely dead on the inside had some form of personality. This thing, however, had nothing. She truly was a doll down to her core.

"Good evening," his throat felt dry when he responded.

"I have my invitation, here," she said as she pulled out the envelope branding the Ganesha sigil. She presented it to him. She tilted her head and blinked. It almost fooled him into believing she was something real. "Is something the matter?"

"N-No," he stuttered and accepted her invitation. He didn't need to. But there was something _wrong_ about her. He just wanted her to get past him. "Enjoy the festivities."

She bowed to him. A neat bow that was smoother than anything he could perform. Without another word, and without another glimpse at him, she walked into the den.

She was probably the first god to have not glimpsed at the colossal statue towering over them.

Hmm. He had forgotten to get her name. He needed it to check the roster. Ganesha had wanted to know which gods were present for the evening. He liked to use the information to see which gods' attention he couldn't get and plan for future events.

Fortunately, Quinn had taken her invitation.

"…Oedon?" he blinked. It wasn't a god he was familiar with. He checked the roster in his clipboard.

Ah, there it was. Between Odin and Osiris.

But… strange. He could have sworn that name hadn't been on the list. Otherwise he would have inquired about it with his patron god. After all, Quinn was put in the front with the list in order to shoo away those pretending to be gods. He took pride in knowing everyone in this list.

Well… not _everyone_ on the list. Ganesha had invited over five hundred deities. Learning each and every one of them had been a tremendous hassle. Surely Quinn had missed or forgotten about a few of them.

She was on the list. That was all that mattered.

0-0-0

Things were going so smoothly too…

But then Freya had to show up.

Hestia scowled at the goddess of beauty. She couldn't stand her personality or any other god just like her. Freya was beauty incarnate and knew it. She flaunted her beauty like a fur coat. That greeting and smile of hers was totally fake. There was no need for Freya to act so civil in front of Hestia.

And when Freya was present… so too was Loki.

The goddess of beauty and the goddess of mischief were the two gods who had the strongest _familias_ in all of Orario. None other could compete against them, not even close. It seemed almost natural they would know each other. Heck, they were probably friends for public appearances only. If they weren't then their teams would be at each other's necks.

Hestia couldn't like Loki because she remembered the _goddess_ was once a man in the Upper World, no matter how much Loki said otherwise. Besides… it was always Loki who started the fight.

"Wassamatta?" Loki greeted as soon as she approached the group. Those leering eyes of hers were honed on Hestia. "Am I not allowed to greet ya without a reason? It'd be rude not to say hi. Get with the program, Itty Bitty."

"…Don't make such a face, Hestia," Hephaestus muttered as she took a sip from her wine.

The goddess of the forge had been her best friend for eons, even back up in the Upper World. It was Hephaestus who gave Hestia her big break when she fell to the Lower World… Actually, it was more like Hestia mooched off of her before Hephaestus got sick of it and gave her the boot. And yet Hestia always returned begging for scraps.

It was Hephaestus who found her a place to stay and a stable job. The abandoned and ruined church for the former, and the server to a fried potato stand on Northern South Street for the latter.

"Oh, Loki," Freya steered the conversation away before a fight could break out. "I hear about your _familia_ all the time. Things must be going well?"

"To hear someone with a _familia_ as good as yours say that… I must be moving up in the world." She scratched the back of her head as a shade of pink blossomed on her cheeks. "But yeah, my children are my pride 'n' joy. Mind if I brag?"

Oh? An opportunity presents itself this early in the gathering? Well, Hestia couldn't ignore such a chance.

"Hey, Loki," she began ever so gracefully. "I have a question for you about someone in your _familia._ Wallen…-something or other."

She waved her hand off. She remembered the name perfectly. She simply chose not to remember.

"Oh, the Sword Princess?" Freya looked positively enthralled all of a sudden. "I would like to listen, if you don't mind."

Hephaestus found this as the right moment to slip away. She had said her piece to Hestia and greeted the other gods. She nodded to Freya, who was the only goddess to notice her, and tried to slip away.

Tried. Hestia seemed to notice she was about to leave and clung a grubby hand onto her dress.

Hephaestus sighed and decided, against her better judgement, to stay.

"What's this?" Loki snickered. "Itty Bitty has a question for me? Someone look to the sky! Is it Armageddon? Ragnarok? Did Hell just freeze over?"

Hestia clenched her teeth. If it wasn't for Bell (she lied to herself) she wouldn't be bothering to talk to Loki. But… "Here it is. Does she have a boyfriend or someone of interest?"

Loki's thin eyes opened just a smidgeon, just enough for her dangerously intoxicating glare to slip through the slits. "I see ya've heard that rumor too. Moron, she's my favorite. I ain't giving her to anyone, ya hear? I don't care 'bout some white-haired newbie. As soon as I find him, I'm gonna mount his head on my bedroom wall."

White-haired… newbie?

A cold chill ran down her spine. N-No. It couldn't be. Aiz Wallenstein couldn't have… She was interested in Bell?!

This was worse than she thought. Bell had a tremendous crush on the Sword Princess. What was he going to do once he learns she was interested in him as well?

She was going to lose him. She was going to lose Bell.

"…Ya don't happen to know somethin' 'bout that, do ya?" Loki's glare sharpened as she watched Hestia fidget in place.

"D-Don't be ridiculous," Hestia couldn't make eye contact. It was suddenly hot in the room and she was starting to sweat. "I was only asking because I heard the same rumor. Y-You know how we gods love gossip. Ah ha… ha ha… haaaa…"

Yet another terrible lie. This was the first time she heard about some rumor regarding the Sword Princess.

Had she been looking back at Loki, Hestia would have seen the way Freya's eyes glinted.

"I'm sure it's just a phase," Freya offered to Loki. "You know how the children can be sometimes. Personally I can't imagine the Sword Princess winding down with someone. She seems so… driven."

"Meh," Loki shrugged. "Aiz is always workin' hard. She's a kinda ditz who lacks common sense sometimes cuz of it. But she's still my Aiz and I ain't handing her to no one!"

There was the sound of clapping coming from their side. It was applause from a single individual after having watching Loki mount her foot on top of the table and state her intentions.

Heads turned. The instigator had been a young woman with a sickly appearance. She was pretty, surely, but there was something off about her. Her skin was too smooth. Those eyes were too large. And there was no expression on her face at all. She seemed more like an animated corpse than a goddess.

Hestia quickly realized this thing wasn't of flesh and bone. This thing… she was a doll. A doll with human proportions.

"Good evening, goddesses," the doll spoke in a soft voice devoid of emotion. It bowed elegantly but without feeling. "I have heard word the keeper of _Loki Familia_ is present among your group?"

"Um… present?" Loki raised her hand (after getting off the table) with an uneasy expression. "Who're ya? Don' think I've seen ya before."

The doll's eyes shifted towards the crimson-haired goddess. "I am but a plain doll. I am the keeper of Hunters. I am here to request you instruct your wards away from our den. It is rude to invade another's home. My Hunters have warned your wards. But I am here to make sure. Will you abide?"

It felt… wrong. One voice, no tone, no pitch at all, and absolutely no emotion. It was like listening to a single note being played on a lousy instrument. Hestia wanted nothing to do with this thing.

"…You are not a god," Freya accused. Her eyes narrowed. "Nor are you a magic construct. I've never seen a color like yours before. Nothing so… putrid. What are you?"

"You are correct," the doll turned away from Loki to answer Freya. "I am not your kin. I am of mine. I am but a plain doll, crafted by the humans. I was made to love them. That was how they made me. Is that not how it should be? I do love the humans…

"Because I was the one who made them to love me."

It tilted its head and placed its glass hands over its chest. It even rocked its body side to side as if the words swayed its heart. It would have been lovely to witness had it the ability to change its face. Instead, a dead stare lay permanently frozen for them to see.

"…Do you dare lay claim to being… a primal?"

The doll's eyes snapped up. Hestia almost swore something _human_ swept through the doll. She could have sworn something dark had glinted behind its glassy eyes. But no expression appeared as it stared directly at Hephaestus, who so boldly questioned it.

"A primordial deity?" the doll questioned with another tilt of its head. "If that is what you wish to call me. The little ones have called me other things. Your children have called me others. The humans call me many things. I have no name. I have no body. I have no form. But many identify me as many things.

"They say I am Oedon, the Great One."

A primal… Hestia remembered the last time the primal deities roamed the world. She still feared the experience. Her father had been one such creature. He devoured her and her siblings in fear they would overthrow him. She sat in his stomach constantly burning for who knows how long until her youngest brother, Zeus, had broken them free.

Kronos wasn't the only primal to have existed. There were others, hundreds more beyond her family tree. Other gods could attest to the age before the Upper and Lower Worlds. It was nothing but chaotic.

And this… _doll_ claimed to be among one of them?

"Bullshit," she swore.

The doll didn't look her way. Apparently she wasn't important enough to draw its attention. Instead, deciding its business with both Hephaestus and Freya was complete, it returned to Loki. "May I have an answer to my request? Will you make sure to have your… children keep away from our home?"

"Oi, whazzat ya were sayin' earlier about warning them?" Loki's eyes turned dangerous. For all of her eccentrics and her _charm_ (Hestia was being polite), Loki was the goddess of mischief for a reason. And, sometimes, mischief borderlines destructive. "My _familia_ was down in the Dungeon this week doing an expedition. Ya sayin' yur _familia_ attacked them?"

"The sixtieth floor is our home," said the doll. "Your children were on their way. We asked them politely to leave. They refused. We defended our home."

Loki snickered, almost snorting inelegantly. "Yah, right. As if some unheard of _toy_ like ya could stop my _familia._ We're nothing but the best."

The doll only stared. It said nothing for a long time. Loki wasn't intimidated; she stared right back. But… it dragged on to the point where the realization kicked in that she was staring at _a doll._ She started to feel embarrassed.

"I shall take your answer as a decline," the doll said suddenly. "Very well. We have sought to warn you. I will take my leave. Good night, goddesses."

It gave a cordial bow before turning and walking away. Their conversation had drawn in a crowd and the gods circling around them split open to let the doll pass through. Rather, it was more like they didn't want anything to do with it. Murmurs went around.

"There's nothing like a party crasher to ruin the mood," Freya gave a sigh that still sounded like music. How the hell she did that Hestia demanded to know. "I suppose it doesn't matter. I've gotten what I've needed from this party. I think I shall call it a night."

Slowly, life began to return to the party. In the background, Ganesha thought it was his boasting of excellence (he'd been providing some sort of monologue about how great he was for the past hour and a half) and decided to keep boasting to keep the fire going. His children could only give weary sighs at the sight of him while apologizing to the gods who were unfortunate enough to be standing near him.

"Leaving already?" Hestia was a little surprised the goddess of beauty was retiring… and without a man at each arm. "You just got here."

Freya offered a kind smile, "Oh, I learned something valuable today. There was something that had gotten my interest lately and I thought I could learn all about him if I asked around here. I was not disappointed."

 _Him,_ she said. Freya was interested in a person. And when Freya got interested in someone, she went to no lengths to get him.

Hestia felt like she needed to sit down. There was only one person Freya could have been interested in. After all, the goddess of beauty had went directly towards their group as soon as she walked into the Celebration. And who had they talked about? A white-haired newbie.

She wasn't sure whether to run home and cradle Bell in her arms and protect him… or strangle him for getting the attention of _the_ greatest seductress in all existence?

Because, _seriously,_ how the hell was Hestia supposed to compete with something unworldly like Freya?!

"…Hestia, can you let go of me now?" Hephaestus tried to pry her fingers off of her dress. Hestia had been holding on this entire time. "Hey, are you listening? What's gotten into you? Loki and Freya left already."

Hestia snapped out of her panic attack. She _had_ been clenching tightly to her friend's dress all along. Oh no… she had wrinkled it. Maybe she wouldn't notice? It looked extremely expensive and Hestia couldn't afford to cover for it…

"S-Sorry," she said with a forced grin. "It's just… Bell is giving a lot of trouble lately…"

Hephaestus wanted to make a comment about her dress… but she decided to let it go. She wasn't very fond of it anyways. She only dressed for the occasion. "The white-haired boy, right. He seems to have gotten quite the attention lately. Well, how has he been as an adventurer?"

She didn't care all too much. She was only trying to be polite and calming Hestia enough so she could finally slip away and get on with the rest of the party. There were some other gods she meant to talk to before the night was over.

"T-That's right!" Hestia snapped at attention and shot her hand through her purse… while trying to move aside the food she had crammed within. They were going to just throw away the leftovers anyways so might as well take them home. "Hephaestus, I need you to do something for me—"

"I am not lending you a single val."

"How rude!" Hestia gasped. "I only need your expert opinion on something! Surely something like that is free. Bell managed to get his hands on some new weapons. They're really cool; they combine into a short sword and can separate into a pair of daggers. I was just wondering if you could tell me anything about them."

Hephaestus' single eye shot wide open upon hearing the description alone.

Her hand latched onto the one Hestia was about to use to pull out the twin daggers. Only the hilt was exposed and Hephaestus hoped no one spotted them.

"Come with me," she urged in a hushed voice as she dragged Hestia away from the room.

They exited the building through one of the side doors (Hestia was flabbergasted there was another door besides the one at the Ganesha's crotch) and Hephaestus checked to make sure there was no one else in earshot. Still, she made sure to keep her voice quiet.

She spoke in a sharp hush, "Hestia, _where_ did your child get the Blades of Mercy?"

"T-That's what I want to know!" but Hestia hadn't taken the hint at all the precautions and talked normally. "I want you to look at them and— they have a name?! Are they some legendary weapon?!"

Legendary? Oh by the root of all creation… she had _no_ idea.

"Those are the weapon of choice of the Crow," Hephaestus whispered. "The murderer who assassinated several _familia_ including their gods."

"…Eh?" Hestia let loose a small noise at the bottom of her throat. Her smile was frozen on her face.

"It was before you got here, a few years back. But everyone who has lived here long enough know about the Crow and his instruments. Just look at them. Do those look like the weapons to use against monsters? Those are the weapons created to hunt _adventurers_."

"…Eh?!" Hestia was now shaking at this point.

They heard a noise. Someone in an apron had come out with a large bag— the garbage boy who was doing his job.

"We can't talk here," Hephaestus stated. He grabbed Hestia's arm and dragged her away from the Ganesha building. "Come to my office. Hestia… I hope no one saw Bell with those weapons."


	4. Chapter 4

It's been a few days since his goddess left for some… party, was it? In fact, did she say where she was going? Regardless, Bell was starting to get concerned. It was at the end of the week and there hadn't been any word from her. He hoped she was doing well.

There wasn't much he could do about it. He'd wait another day before sounding the alarm and turning the city inside-out in search of her. For now, he should focus on the Dungeon.

He had finished healing the other day. His leg was in top shape with no more flashes of pain. Unfortunately, he still couldn't go to the lower regions of the Dungeon like how he wanted. The goddess still had his weapons and he didn't feel the starter's dagger from the Guild could support him.

…He could use the money Maria gave him to buy a new set of weapons. Maybe some armor too. No. It wasn't his money. He needed to return it the next time she showed up.

"Oi! Wait up nyah, white-head kid!"

He recognized the voice of the one who called him out as he was jogging down the street— he usually did in order to warm up for the Dungeon. He was just about to pass the Benevolent Mistress when one of the cat-people called out to him from the café. And beside her was the elf from the other day.

The way she looked at him… it made him feel like he was naked in front of her.

"Um… yes?" he approached the two. He wasn't sure what business he had with them. He remembered returning Syr's basket last night so they shouldn't be asking something regarding her.

"Good morning, nya!" the cat girl gave a wide grin with a salute. "Sorry to call nyou out like that, nya! Got a favor to as. Here, nya."

Without warning, she pressed a coin purse into his hand.

"Syr is nyour friend, white-head kid. So I want nyou to give this to her, nya!"

…He did his best to keep his smile up.

"Anya," the elf spoke up. "You're not being direct. Mister Cranell is confused."

"Lyu, nyou're stupid!" Anya raised her head as if what she was saying was too smart for anyone else to understand. "Syr forgot her wallet, so I'm asking him to take it to hr. Nyou knew that, right, white-head kid?"

"…That's how it is," the elf, Lyu, turned back to Bell with the practiced patience of one who had long learned to deal with Anya. "I apologize for the confusion."

"Ah, no, I got it now," Bell's smile was more at ease this time. "That's what's going on."

"Are you sure it is okay to accept our request?" she asked next. "Anya, the other employees, and I are too busy preparing for the day to go after Syr. I know we are interrupting your plans for today…"

"It's not that big of a deal," he waved it off, tucking the purse into his backpack. "But is it true Syr is skipping out on work?"

"Anya did not choose her words well," the elf looked over at the cat girl. There was something in her gaze that made the feline flinch. It was over and her stalwart gaze returned to Bell. "Syr is not playing hooky. Her situation is different because she doesn't reside at our establishment like we do."

"Today of all days…?" Bell thought about it for a moment. "Ah, could she have gone to see Monsterphilia?"

Monsterphilia. It was something relatively new to Bell who had been living in Orario for no more than a month and being an adventurer for two weeks— almost three. Once a year, the adventurers of the _Ganesha Familia_ would capture monsters in the dungeon, bring them out into the colosseum on the surface, and put on a spectacle for people to watch. Supposedly, the monster tamers of the _Ganesha Familia_ were the best and knew how to put on a good show.

Bell was curious himself. He'd have never been to any sort of festival… Nothing as big as this one anyways. There had been a few harvest celebrations back in his farming village. Nothing fancy and as… crowded.

He supposed he could take the day off to check things out. One day off wouldn't kill him. He had enough money saved for that much at least.

"Yes, she went to partake in the festivities," Lyu nodded once. "Mister Cranell, this may be out of the blue but… is your goddess not back yet? I've yet to see you properly armed for the Dungeon."

His smile became nervous. Even Lyu could tell he was a newbie. "N-No. She hasn't come back yet from… her friend's. I've been careful. I'm only staying in the upper levels until she gets back."

Lyu stared at him for a moment. It felt like he was being interrogated. "I see. Be sure to take good care of them once they are returned. The person who gave them to you will be distraught if they saw you without them."

"Yeah, I'd be pretty upset too if— wait, what?" He had sighed with understanding while scratching the back of his head before the depth of her words hit him. "M-Miss Lyu, do you know something about those blades?!"

Meanwhile, Anya was sobbing in the corner, having been forgotten from the conversation.

Lyu blinked once. Her expression didn't change. "I… happen to know the previous owner of those weapons. She and I are acquainted. I can't tell you who she is, only that she trusts you with them as a worthy successor. Now, please excuse me, Mister Cranell. We must get back to work before Mother Mia catches us being idle. May you find your worth in the Waking World."

"Eh… Y-You too…" he managed to say. He had gotten a clue on those twin daggers but Lyu didn't seem to be the type of person to freely release that kind of information. Plus, he doubted he could have made her budge. She seemed to be the type who took charge and would walk all over him if he tried.

Her departing courtesy was certainly interesting. Must have been an elf thing. But, he wished her the same so to not be rude. With a quick bow to both girls, Bell turned on his heels and resumed his jog. Instead of heading to the Dungeon, he headed towards the festival grounds.

"Waking World, nya?" asked Anya as soon as he left.

"You would have to be in the know, Anya," Lyu responded. She wiped her hands off her apron while she watched Bell slowly disappear from the street. "It is a greeting between Hunters."

Anya scratched her cheek while squinting her eyes. She didn't understand at all. Must be an elf thing. "Nyou're not liking white-haired kid, are nya? Syr will be pretty upset with nyou."

"Mister Cranell is someone I deeply respect," she admitted. She turned and went back into the shop with Anya in her tow. "I remember us meeting once before. He is someone who will carry your burdens… whether you want him to or not. He's that sort of person."

0-0-0

On Main East Street, there is a private pub on the second story of a restaurant. The building was tall enough and in the right location for the customers seated at the window tables to have a full view of the festival grounds. She watched as a myriad of mortals ran amok. Children playing games and tugging at their parents, lovers laughing together, friends eating delights— all sorts of merriments were shared.

Freya didn't bother watching any of them. She had no interest in the dull colors that their souls radiated. She was not just a mere goddess of beauty. She once ruled in the heavens as a judge of souls for the afterlife. Freya did not need to use her divine rights to activate this innate ability to peer into the soul and know their innermost secrets. It was perceived as a color— and from there she could decide whether the individual was innocent or guilty.

…Or if she wanted to toss them into the pit simply on a whim.

Her eyes traced over the crowds in her seat at the pub. She saw the rainbow of colors as an ocean… but not one the color she was anticipating in finding. Her heart was racing, desiring to seek the one who had captivated her heart and stolen her attention.

Never before had she seen a soul so… clear. There had been no color to him whatsoever. She was astonished by it. It was the rarest gem she had ever witnessed and she had to have it. She wanted to hold it close to her bosom, to love it for the remainder of eternity. She wanted to know if it would remain pure or if it would change into a new color— not one of any spectrum (both mortal and divine) but of something _entirely_ new.

That white-haired boy. She wanted him for her collection. And he would be her crowing prize.

"Yo! Sorry to keep ya waitin'!"

Freya pulled off another masterfully immaculate smile as she turned to face a good friend of hers. She greeted Loki in a sing-song voice, "Not at all. I just got here myself."

Unlike Freya, who dressed in the most alluring of dresses (under a thick cloak that had to hide her beauty else be the center of attention), Loki was dressed in a plain tunic with faded rolled pants. She always favored the male attire. "Haven't had breaky yet. Mind if I grab a bite?"

"Do as you please."

While Loki took her seat and looked at the menu, Freya allowed herself the triviality of taking a glimpse at the woman escorting Loki. She stood away from their table at the goddess' back, liken to a watch dog. Golden hair and golden eyes with the beauty that would put certain gods to shame. The color of her soul was also something curious— not enough to get Freya fascinated but surely interesting.

If only she didn't have those bandages hiding her pretty face. Aiz Wallenstein was an adventurer who was as beautiful as she was skilled. Such a shame she was wounded like this. But… such is the burden of being an adventurer.

"Are you going to introduce us?" Freya asked.

"Eh, ya need introducin'?" Loki's tone was innocent, but it was the sharp look in her eyes that gave her away. She knew Freya was just making face.

"This is the first time for us to meet face-to-face."

Loki opened one of her thin eyes, letting loose the wave of chaos that came from her endless gaze. It didn't affect someone with the mind of Freya. "'Kay then, this is my Aiz. That 'nough for ya? Aiz, this is a goddess, ya should at least say 'ello."

"…Nice to meet you," the Sword Princess spoke softly with a cordial bow of respect.

Freya's smile flexed a tad bit. She readdressed Loki, "Can I ask why you brought the Sword Princess with you? Don't you trust me?"

"'Course I don't," Loki had no shame in admitting. "But that ain't why I brought her. It's the Fair, yah? What better time for a date than with my Aizu?"

She tried to (not very discreetly) reach for the slender thigh of her child… only for it to be slapped away. Aiz did not blink. Her expression did not change. She had reacted more out of instinct as if it was just as automatic as breathing.

Loki rubbed her reddened hand, "Well, that and she's finally back from an expedition. Turned really nasty. My poor Aizu came back to me beaten up like this. But she'll be back in the Dungeon before ya know it. Someone just had to tell her to relax, yah?"

"Hoh…?" Freya's smile shifted. It was no longer genuine but purely polite at this point. There was a fire that had sparked. "Don't tell me it was that doll that did this?"

Loki didn't say anything. The maddening glint in her eyes told everything.

"You won't tell me what happened?" Freya pressed for further information— gossip, really.

Loki's lips thinned as she tapped a few fingers on the table. "Three of 'em, from what I've heard. An old geezer with a scythe, a mage-knight with a glowin' green sword, and some _kenki._ Popped outta the air and fought the advance group on the fiftieth floor. Said tah turn back, or else. It was our loss."

She didn't just have a sour look on her face. She was positively fuming on the inside and some of the miasma was leaking out. Those dining alongside them sensed the calamity about to unfold and quickly exited the room. In a matter of seconds it was just the three of them.

"Wiped the floor of us, my best team says," Freya could hear the strain and grit of Loki forcing herself to admit.

"You should learn from this," Freya offered. "You're team is just as good as mine, Loki. Humility isn't a curse, but something to make you strive."

"Yah, yah," Loki sneered but had calmed down for the most part. "We're going back down there. Gonna make 'em pay for embarrasin' us like that. The team's pretty set on it. Haven' seen them this gung-ho 'bout somethin' since they were brats."

"Do tell me if there's anything I can do to help," she offered. "I'm not overly fond of something like _that_ running around. It makes my skin crawl."

Loki clicked her tongue, "This is our problem. I'll let you know, yah. 'Nough about that. Why don't you tell me why I'm here?"

Freya offered another kind smile, "I only wanted to chat. I heard you passed out on some liquor after the Celebration. Hestia certainly gets under your skin, doesn't she?"

The goddess of mischief's eye twitched once. "I'll ask ya again. Why?"

Freya tilted her head, feigning ignorance. "I don't understand. What's the matter, Loki?"

"Come on, moron," Loki opened both eyes this time. "Ya been strange recently. Claim to not be interested in the Celebration but poke yer head at the last minute. What was this 'bout some new interest ya said to Itty Bitty?"

"You make it sound like I'm scheming something," Freya let loose a small chime of laughter.

But the goddess of mischief wasn't taking it as a joke. She was serious and the look on her face could kill even the vilest of beasts. Those chaotic eyes of hers bored into Freya, not so much searching for the answer within as Loki was threatening for it. She was growing upset over having to come all the way here over something so… trivial.

Freya didn't budge. She kept her smile up, unperturbed by her fellow goddess. The murderous glint didn't faze her in the slightest.

Eventually, it was that which made Loki sigh in resignation. "Oi, it's a man, ain't it?"

Freya's smile shifted ever so slightly. It had not been a physical change. Merely a change in perspective in her eyes. Not even Aiz, who had been staring at her the entire time, had noticed the change.

But Loki did. Mainly by intuition after having known Freya for a few centuries. "So… Ya got an eye for a child already in another _familia,_ I take it? Jeez, woman. That all ya think about? Ya'll go after anyone, young or old?"

"How rude," Freya pretended the comment insulted her. "I do have standards."

Loki gave her a blunt stare. She didn't believe it. The conversation wouldn't press on so she made it, "…And?"

"And… yes?" Freya's smile flexed once more.

"Who's the guy? What child are ya after now? When'd ya find him?"

Even Loki was susceptible to the toxins fumed by gossip. She was a goddess and many like her craved entertainment. And there was no juicier steak out there than the scandal of romantic conflict. Loki was craving to know which _familia_ Freya was destined to ruin.

The goddess of beauty didn't answer right away. She looked out the window with her silver eyes peering into a scape only she could perceive. Everything happening outside did not matter. Her mind was swept away to past events. "He's not that strong. Weak if you compare him to the children of our _familia._ Easily upset, he starts bawling at the simplest of problems. That kind of child."

She gave a very exuberant sigh. The kind a maiden would have over the thought of their first love. "He was beautiful, pure. I've never seen anything like him."

Her eyes blinked. A playful smile graced her lips like the sort found on an innocent teenage girl. This time she watched a pair of lovers across the street. "I found him by accident. He just happened to walk across my line of sight on a day just like this. The markets were crowded. Adventurers were going to taverns and brothels to spend their earnings. And in the sea of people, I spy the faintest glimpse of… white hair."

She pretended to not have noticed Aiz blink, the first reaction she had the entire time. Rather, it was more like Freya ignored it.

Because… _there._ In the crowd of people she caught a glimpse of it. White among the sea of colors.

He was moving through the crowds, trying to reach to the core of the festivities. He was heading towards… the center. The colosseum.

…Towards Monsterphilia.

Her smile shifted once more. No longer was it alluring. It became predatory.

"I apologize," she said, getting to her feet in a gracefully fluid motion none could replicate. "Something has come up. Let's do this again soon."

"…Eh?" was all Loki could say before Freya was out the door.

0-0-0

 _He's not as tact as he once was._

Maria kept her frown since the beginning of the week. Bell Cranell was certainly artful in the ways of the Hunt. She had thought by granting him the lost knowledge of _Quickening_ something within him could stir and he'd remember her. It had worked but nowhere near as potent as she had desired. She had only been able to scratch the surface.

She had clashed against him, half to curb her frustrations and the other half to knock sense into him. Perhaps he could have remembered their death battle in the clock tower. Perhaps he could have remembered the secret he had reaped out of her.

Alas, he couldn't remember anything further.

Their battle had been tedious and consuming. He was nowhere near as graceful as he once was in the Nightmare. He made mistakes. She was able to carve into him with such ease there was no relief.

He was flatfooted. Because he could not remember the Dream, he could not remember the amount of skill he had acquired. He did not know the limits of his power acquired by the Doll. When they fought, he battled with the barbaric and sloppy style of an _adventurer._

Not a very good one either. He seemed so young and inexperienced. He had been granted an impossibly powerful weapon but knew not how to wield it.

He relied only on instinct. While his mind could not remember the Dream of the Hunt, his body could. Muscle memory was something that even decades would have difficulty wiping clean. But it still hadn't been enough to match against her. To defend himself, surely, but nowhere near enough to push her.

Which was why come today she would make him remember. Her orders had been to harass _Loki Familia_ until they learned their lesson but there was the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.

Monsterphilia was a good opportunity. It was easier than having to infiltrate the _familia's_ lair and assassinating a few targets. Gehrman and Ludwig would not like the idea once they found out what she had done. Innocents would perish. But it's not like their hands were any less drenched in the blood of the innocent.

"Excuse me, are you lost—?!"

She approached the guard and pushed him back. The dagger slid between his ribs as she leaned against him as if whispering a secret into his ear. The guard tried to make a sound but a punctured lung only had him hack blood. Dazed from the lethal wound, his legs backtracked him by her gentle guidance around the corner. No one suspected a thing around the crowded boulevard.

She snuck through the gate after propping the guard against a bench with one arm over the back and the other covering the wound. His head was bowed, making it look like he had dazed off perhaps from overindulging on liquor the night before.

Orders were being barked within, but not in alarm. They were out of haste. Above their heads was the stadium with a roaring crowd demanding more entertainment. The workers below were husseling cages with monsters on levers and bringing them up for the stage performance. A captain was directing them around with a schedule in her hands.

People glanced at Maria, but no one stopped her. The guard had let her pass, armed even. With her attire she must be a person of importance. Perhaps a noble or an officer of some sort come to inspect their inventory.

…It almost saddened her how easy this was going to be. Almost.

0-0-0

Bell couldn't find Syr. There were too many people and he was pretty sure he had seen a few of them multiple times. There were so many people swamping the place he was getting lost. He'd been to the festival grounds before on numerous occasions. He knew his way around. But it was the amount of people that distorted his sense of direction.

He found some breathing room by the large fountain. He needed to take a seat to get some air. The Dungeon was nothing compared to this. It had only been an hour and already he was exhausted.

This was the significant different between the modest celebrations of his village compared to a massive city like Orario. He was getting dizzy from the people.

"Beeeeeeeeellllll!"

He recognized that voice. All of a sudden he found the strength to stand…

…Only to get knocked back down when a twin-tailed torpedo slammed into his chest. Followed by squeezing the life out of him by thin arms as strong as a python.

"Bell! I missed you so much!" his goddess cried heavily as she squeezed him harder.

"G-Goddess…!" he gasped. His face was turning an interesting combination of blue and red. Blue because he couldn't breathe. Red because he could feel her magnanimous boobs against him.

If he were to die like this… he could say he died a happy man. His grandfather might even be proud.

He could almost see the man smiling at him as nothing but white began to flood his vision.

Hestia, wanting to see the face of her ward, stepped off. She took note at how he was panting with some sweat. Seeing as how he was in his armor he was probably fresh out of the Dungeon. "Bell! It must be fate to have run into you here! What a coincidence we were reunited at the festival."

Another lie from hers truly. She had been stalking (she had no shame in admitting it) Bell for half an hour, waiting for the most opportune moment to surprise him. She had lost sight of him a few times. But she followed her gut until she stumbled across him at the fountain at the center of the boulevard.

"Goddess, where have you been?" Bell asked as soon as he had recovered. "I thought you were going to be away for a few days. It's been almost a week. Are you alright? Did something happen to you?"

"Your goddess has been working hard these past few days," she said with a twinkle in her eyes. "Bell, you're going to love this! I have a surprise for you!"

She reached for her purse… but stopped shortly. A gentle smile grew as she retracted her hand.

"But not yet," she said. "I'll wait to give it to you later. Right now we should enjoy the festival! Bell, we're going on a date!"

Without warning, she grabbed his hand and tugged him away from the fountain.

"Eh?!" he fumbled in his footsteps. "Goddess, wait! I'm not here for fun. I'm here looking for someone."

"Then you can do it while we enjoy ourselves," she said with a thin grin. It looked almost forced. "Two birds, one stone, all that. Take the day off, Bell. Today, you and I are going to celebrate!"

He couldn't argue with his goddess. Especially with that smile. It hurt him to see her like that. She seemed upset about something and wanted to have fun in order to cheer herself up. He felt obligated to partake with her not only as she was his patron, but because he cared for her. Instead of being tugged away by her, he chose to grasp her hand back and walk alongside her.

His goddess beamed a smile at him in appreciation. He supposed he could look for Syr this way. It was also likely by this point she returned to the Benevolent Mistress after realizing she forgot her purse.

…But then she'd hear from Lyu and Anya about him and return here. So the point was moot. He'd find her here eventually.

The next instant he found himself sitting at the hillside away from the crowds while he and his goddess were enjoying a pair of crepes. He knew girls liked this sort of stuff, and he did too, but all he was seeing was val coins instead of fruit pieces. They had jacked up the prices for the festivities and he wasn't sure if he could afford to binge like this.

"Ahhhhhhn~" his goddess raised her crepe up for him to take a bite out of.

He knew she said 'date', and this was something couples did. But he was an adventurer and she his goddess. There were certain respects he had to pay.

…Even when he _really_ wanted to do something like this with her for real.

"G-Goddess, I can't take food from you!" he said. "It's not right! H-Here! Take some of mine!"

"…Well played," he heard her mutter but took his offer. She made the most adorable look as she chomped down on his strawberries and cream crepe.

When she pulled back, she had a little piece of cream on her cheek. She hadn't noticed. Almost out of instinct he went to wipe it off with his finger. But then he realized this was his goddess and not someone from the village. He pulled his hand back and went to pull out the napkin he kept in his pack for lunches… and to wipe off blood from his weapon.

"Go on," her eyes fluttered towards him. "I want you to do it."

She leaned forward with her eyes closed. She looked so tranquil as if she were expecting him to kiss her instead of wiping the cream off her face.

His face was so red he could see the steam burning out of his nostrils. But he did it. He brushed his finger across her cheek and removed the cream. His heart was beating so hard he didn't just hear it thundering through his eardrums. He could feel the pulse vibrate his entire being.

"Om~" Hestia made a noise.

He nearly passed out. Hestia had grabbed his hand and put the finger containing the cream into her mouth. She sucked on it, longer than what was necessary. The cream was already gone and she continued to play with it. He could feel her tongue twirl around his finger.

"Mmm…" a trail of saliva latched from his finger to her lips when she pulled it away. "Delicious. Thank you, Bell."

He couldn't talk. His brain had overheated and was forced to shut down. Did his goddess seriously just do _this_?! This was something that was supposed to happen among lovers! She was teasing him. She must be! They were adventurer and goddess. There was no way she could be flirting with him!

While he was having his mental breakdown, Hestia pulled out a small parchment of paper from her purse. It was a list of things titled [Thing To Do In Order To Steal Back Bell From Aiz Wallenzitface and Potentially Save Him From Freya and Any Other Hussy Out There]— with a note scribbled _name subject to change._ She checked one thing off and tucked it back to her purse before he could notice.

"So Bell, it was a girl you were looking for?" she started while munching on her crepe.

It took a while for him to return to normal. "A-Ah… yeah. It was that girl from the tavern I mentioned. She forgot her purse and they asked me to bring it to her. How did you know?"

"Intuition," she said with a huff. There she went again getting upset over nothing. He wished he could understand her sometimes. Maybe… it was her, uh, time of the month? "I guess since she's just a friend that's fine. For now. I'm sure she'll turn up eventually. Don't worry about her. You have a perfectly loving goddess right in front of— bleck!"

Something red was dosed on her head.

It was Maria. She had approached them while he was distracted and had emptied the contents of a glass bottle onto his goddess. Something too thick to be wine. And the smell…

"Heaven above!" Hestia put her hand over her nose. The liquid was all over her clothes and in her hair. "This stinks! Hey lady, what gives?! Do you have any idea how hard it will be to get this out of my dress?! This is my favorite outfit too! No other outfit gets Bell to stare at my chest all day! Hey! Say something!"

The much taller woman was ignoring the goddess of the hearth. Her eyes bored down onto Bell's. A sneer distorted her chiseled face. "Bell Cranell, you've gotten weak since the Dream. I've snuck up on you without any worry. You should do well to mind your surroundings while the Hunt has commenced. Always."

"What is this stuff?!" Hestia went on. "It's gonna stain! And it'll take a miracle to remove the smell! Waaaaaaaah— B-Bell?!"

She was about to lunge at the woman for what she had done. But Bell stopped her. He put a hand on her arm and pushed her behind him. His spare knife was out and ready to defend his goddess.

Maria looked at the knife with disdain deep in her eyes. She looked at it as if the petty thing insulted her beyond forgiveness. Instead of instigating anything further, she turned on her heels with her cape flapping against his face at the sharp spin. "A Hunter must always prepare their selves for the worst. Do not let your mistakes bring about your ruin… or hers."

"Don't you dare just walk away after dumping your drink on me!" Hestia tried to chase after her, but Bell held her back. She was kicking and swinging her fists around, ready to claw out Maria's eyes. He was afraid his goddess might provoke the blonde woman into retaliating.

Bell held her back until Maria had disappeared into the crowds. It took a moment later for Hestia to calm down. She sagged with her back leaning against his chest. He could still hear her grumbling dark curses.

He could only sigh in relief. There were too many people for Maria to start anything anyways. Some had looked their way, drawn by the shouting his goddess had caused.

Her words held merit, however. With someone like her around he couldn't have gotten careless…

"B-Bell…?"

He held his goddess a little tighter. He could have lost her in that moment. He wouldn't have been able to protect her because he hadn't been good enough to sense the danger. Maria had been right. That wolf-man at the tavern had been right.

He was weak. No wonder everyone laughed at his expense.

"I'm sorry, goddess," he whispered to her. The stench was bad… but it wasn't intolerable. It could have been worse. Maria had made her point to say so. "This happened because I had gotten careless. This was your favorite dress too… The one you wear almost every day…"

…She wore it every day because it was the cheapest thing she owned that could be washed on a regular basis. Everything else was for special occasion use only. But she couldn't tell him that.

She sent a death glare in the direction Maria slipped away towards… and then relented her anger. "Meh, there's nothing I can do about it at this point. It's not like it's the end of the world."

"I have some spare clothes," he flipped his backpack over from his shoulder and began to dig around. "Babel Tower isn't far from here. You can use the showers there and put this on. T-That is, if you don't mind wearing my clothes… I'm sorry I don't have anything better fitting for a goddess…"

She smiled at his ingenuity, "That's very thoughtful of you, Bell. Your stuff is more than good enough. Besides, I'd have to question you if you _did_ have a spare change of women's clothing. This way I don't have to go all the way home to change. Let's go before the smell soaks into my skin."

Inwardly, he apologized to Syr for not being able to find her as quickly as he had liked and having to prolong his search further.

They walked along the grassy area, away from the crowds so to not bother anyone with the smell. Whatever it was had been putrid. Even Bell was starting to get nauseated at the stench. His poor goddess must be doing worse being at the center of it all. It was a pretty mean prank by Maria. But the point had settled in.

They were almost out of the festival grounds when something felt off to him. Nothing had triggered his danger senses to go off. But his body tensed with his muscles coiled, ready to react at the next instant. Something in the back of his mind told him what the problem was but his current consciousness drew up at a clueless blank. Here it was again; that sensation, where his body knew something before his mind could reflect on it.

Then came the sound that got him into motion. A scream. A chorus of screams. A howl of roaring. People turned at the origin of the commotion, drawn in confusion and curiosity. He saw the people create a ripple effect of panic that eventually reached him.

He saw people going flying, having been thrown around not unlike the puppets from the children's stand. A flash of disbelief coursed through him. He found doubt that this was really happening. That people having a good time were being beaten to a pulp, being split in half, being torn apart into bloody shreds.

People were running towards him. They were in a frenzy now, running away from the chorus of screams and howling of… monsters.

Monsters. Monsters had gotten loose and were going on a rampage on the festival grounds. They were attacking people indiscriminately. Harmless people who had no means to defend himself. He saw the flashes of adventurers branding weapons and charging without hesitation to retaliate, only to be knocked aside just as easily.

He recognized the creatures and beasts as things found in the middle to lower levels of the Dungeon. Ogres, trolls, a baby dragon, a zombie warrior, a shadow stalker, a siren, a silverback—

All monsters that were beyond his level. He could not go and fight them like the adventurers who had just tried. He would get killed in an instant.

But he didn't have a choice in the matter.

The silverback raised its head and began smelling the air. He saw some of the other creatures do the same after catching the scent of something. But it was the silverback who had his attention.

Because it was the silverback who looked his way. Behind a caged helmet, its red eyes narrowed. It stood on its hind legs and began to beat against its chest, letting loose a howl of ravenous glee.

…And then began to charge towards him. It slammed into those who tried to get out of its way and crushed those under its galloping limbs as it pressed forward too quickly for the fleeing masses to escape.

He did not stand there any longer. His mind had yet to accept this reality but he could not just wait there until it came to terms. The silverback gorilla was coming his way.

His goddess would get crushed.

It was the thought of her being in danger that made his feet move. He took a step toward his goddess and pressed both his hands against her. One against her hip and the other at her chest. The leverage was just right. Just as the silverback was about to leap at them both, he shoved his goddess away with everything he had in him.

He hadn't calculated his newfound strength. She had been sent flying away. But it didn't matter. He had managed to get her away from the monster.

Unfortunately, he didn't have the chance to use his _Quickening._ Perhaps if he had moved a second before he could have. But his reaction time had cost him the first strike. The silverback swatted him aside with the back of its hand. He had taken the brunt of it without raising a guard.

The world shook and his body screamed at him with the impact. He heard the sound of screeching metal as his starter set armor from the Guild had come apart. It hadn't been built to withstand the pressure of such an attack and did nothing to protect him. It might as well have been made out of rice tissue.

The sense of vertigo was forcibly ripped out of him when he felt himself crash against one of the stands and a sharp pain to the back of his head upon being slammed into the adjacent wall in front of it. His vision was a swirling hue of whites, grays, and blacks. It only lasted an instant.

He forced his body to get up. It obeyed; screaming in agony from taking such a devastating blow but it obeyed the will of its master. The adrenaline was coursing through his veins, forcing him to get back up.

"Bell!" his goddess had ran for him. She was the reason why he forced himself to get back up. She was in danger. They needed to get out of here. The life of his goddess meant more than a few scrapes of pain.

The silverback howled as soon as it spotted her. It slammed its fists into the ground as it began to leap around in place at some sort of bewildered frenzy.

"Goddess!" he shouted back, brushing off the useless armor now that it was in ruins. While it was light, there had been a good amount of weight to it. As it was now, it would slow him down. Monsters at this level could pierce through it with ease.

He _Quickened_ towards her, vanishing into ash and mist and reappearing before her in a single leap. He saw the surprise in her eyes at having seen his skill personally. It didn't matter. He took her arm and pulled her away from the monster. She fumbled in her steps but he pulled harder, jerking at her to stay upright.

They ran down an alley, away from the fleeing crowds. Hopefully the monster would lose sight of them.

"Gugooooo!" he heard it roar… _right behind him._

He yanked on his goddess' arm, this time pulling her into his arms as he spun around to catch her. He took a glance over her shoulder and saw that, indeed, the silverback was squeezing its body between the buildings to come for him. Its large arm was extended and swinging down to snatch Hestia away from him.

He held her tight and _Quickened_ backwards.

He slammed into a few garbage bins after making the mistake of not seeing where he was going. With her still in his arms, he rolled and used his knees to get back up. He didn't look back as he pumped his legs forward to sprint with everything he had to get away from the beast.

Hestia clung to him tightly. He could hear her say something into his chest but the words couldn't process through his mind. He was in overdrive right now. The blood was pumping too hard for him to focus on anything except to escape.

"Gooowaaaaaaaah!"

At the crossroads between the alleyways, he caught the glimpse of something coming at his flank. He only had an instant to see it was the zombie warrior— an adventurer who had perished in the lower levels of the Dungeon, had been absorbed, and reanimated to fight for it— sprinting at him with its sword raised to strike at him.

Once again, he _Quickened_ away before the streak of silver could get to him.

They were out in one of the main streets, but away from the festival grounds.

"Kyuuuuuuu~"

"Are you kidding me?!" both he and his goddess shouted.

Above their heads, the siren was circling around them. Its eyes caught them in open territory and it took a dive for them. It flipped around at the last instant with its talon feet extended to carve into them.

He _Quickened_ again, now starting to feel the strain of having to use it in rapid succession.

It didn't stop him. He continued to sprint with his goddess in his arms. His legs were burning and his lungs were sucking in as much air as was possible. But he charged on anyways, swerving back into another alley instead of the wide main streets.

"Clikikikikikiki…"

…Did he dare to look up over their heads?

Of course he did. Right above, easily maneuvering over the rooftops of the buildings acting as a safeguard (soon to become a prison against this creature) was an arachnid. Most of the spider monsters were half as big as Bell, which while was big wasn't as imposing as any of the monsters at Monsterphilia.

But this was Monsterphilia. No one wanted to see a _shrimp._ The _Ganesha Familia_ had caught themselves a mother arachnid, the queen of her den and ten times the size of a normal arachnid.

"Why are they after us?!" he shouted as he _Quickened_ again, narrowly missing the shots of spider silk that would have gotten him stuck for sure. "Goddess what did you do before you ran into me?!"

"I had nothing to do with this!" she shouted back. "I've never seen these creatures before in my life!"

He leapt over a stairwell that led into a tunnel, just as the mother arachnid managed to squeeze its body to reach for them. The tunnel was too narrow for its bulky body to enter.

He did get nicked, however, when it tried to reach for him with its legs. The needle-like limbs were more like points of a spear that cut into him. Better him than his goddess. He bit down the pain and pressed on.

He realized the mistake he made when the tunnel was dark. Darker than it should have.

The shadow stalker was in here with them.

It didn't stop him. He continued to run. Going back would mean having to face the arachnid in a tight area. He held his goddess tight, ducked his body as low as possible, and sprinted with everything he had, bursting ahead with more energy since this refuge began.

There it was. A glowing set of eyes within the shadows. The shadow stalker came out of its hiding spot and flexed its bladed limbs.

Bell leapt. No, more like dove, twisting his body around while cradling his goddess. The angle had been just tight enough for them to slip through the window the shadow stalker had opted in its strike. It hadn't been perfect; a deep gash ran across his arm.

His back slammed against the floor as they slid. The air was knocked out of his lungs. He had flipped over to get back up, and it was his goddess this time tugging at his arm to assist him. They had made it through the end of the tunnel in that leap and had escaped back into the outside. The shadow stalker would be reluctant to follow them out in the sunlight.

In total, they had run past four blocks all within the past few minutes. Bell was sweating bullets and gasping for air. But they still weren't safe. He could feel it in his bones danger was still upon them.

He had been right. The ground shook as soon as they broke free once more from winding alleyways and had entered a small park.

The silverback had caught up to them. Outraged with the chase, it brought its fist around to slam into both of them.

Bell had been better prepared this time. He shoved his goddess away from the blow and _Quickened_ out of its reach.

The silverback sneered at him. It slammed its fists down onto the ground, reared its head back, and unleashed a threatening roar inches away from his face.

 _I'll kill you,_ it had told him.

Bell was left shaking. His eyes were wide. He couldn't move.

The silverback sniffed once…

…And turned towards Hestia.

The goddess fumbled onto her rear and backpedaled away. She was screaming his name, trying to get him out of his stupor. The silverback took a few steps forward and began to reach for her.

"BELL!" she shouted again with dread and desperation. She could move no better than he. She was frozen with fear. She couldn't command herself to get up and run away.

0-0-0

 _He wiped off the blood that had gotten all over his face before any of it could get into his eyes. What a strange place this was. A Hunter must Hunt the old man had said. But hunt what? The beasts, of course. Just about everything constituted as beasts in the night of the Hunt._

 _Bell had killed all of them and drank the echoes of their blood. Their dying wishes and failed clinging to life had soaked into his soul, soon to be returned to the Doll for him to grow stronger. It reminded him of exceli… only, he couldn't recall what exceli was for the life of him. It felt like he always returned to someone after going on an_ _ **adventure**_ _and growing stronger for it._

 _There had been a variety of beasts. Rabid dogs that ran amok on the abandoned streets. Vicious crows as large as his head with wolfish fangs. Ogres dressed in rags with chunks of stone strapped to their fists. Even people. Yes, people. But none of them were sane. They had all succumbed to the madness and attacked anything that moved. He should have been hesitant in approaching them. But his mind had told them they weren't human— they were beasts._

 _He also saw wolf-men. That had been interesting._

 _But among all the beasts present, they had been small fry. Nothing but grunts. This wasn't some_ _ **adventure**_ _. This was a Hunt. He had been tasked with cleaning up the streets and making sure those who hid away in their homes were safe— even if they hadn't been very welcoming towards him._

 _Small fry… until he came across the bridge leading to the Healing Church._

 _It was massive. Impossibly so. It was a monster unlike any other. Thick shag fur covered its hide with spiked antlers at its head. There was the faint humanoid skeleton upon its build— or at least it could stand on its hind legs if it so chose and its right arm was strikingly similar to his. Its left arm, however, was grotesquely large, being long enough to reach the floor even should it stand straight._

 _It towered over him. It was at least 500 celi tall!_

 _He could have run away. That should have been the right thing to do. But the words of Gehrman resonated through his head. He was a Hunter. And a Hunter Hunts beasts. This creature was no different from the others he had faced._

 _He met it head on, digging his dagger straight into its thigh after his first dash._

 _It smacked him aside hard enough to send him flying. He crashed into a carriage— a relic that had been abandoned since the plague struck this town._

 _Someone had laughed. A chortle of noise that suggested this was actually humorous._

 _He struggled to climb out of the carriage after taking such a powerful blow._

 _A powerful hand gripped the collar of his shirt and pulled him free._

 _"What're you think you're doing?" the stranger had asked. It was a man past his prime with aged hair and a wrinkling face. At least, as much of his face as he could see. Bandages had been wrapped around to cover his eyes. He was dressed in a wide-brim hat and black cloak._

 _He carried an axe in one hand. His attire and choice of weaponry… this man too was a Hunter._

 _The colossal beast at the bridge took cautious steps back. It hadn't treated Bell like a threat in the slightest but… this man made it weary._

 _When he spoke, Bell caught the sight of his teeth. His sharpened teeth with a pair of fangs! "The night has only just begun. You'll not last the Hunt that way. Come on, I'll show you how it's done."_

 _There was a taste of dry humor in his tone. He laughed at Bell but not as an insult. More like as a teacher would at his student. He had expected Bell to make this mistake and was going to patiently show him the correct way._

 _It would explain why the man had come out of seemingly nowhere right when this monster showed up. He had probably been watching Bell all along._

 _The beast roared as the stranger swung his axe. The staff extended, allowing him to use both hands this time. With a ferocious noise at the back of his throat, the man charged forward with his axe raised._

 _The stranger fought very much like any beast Bell had come across. Almost exactly like them…_

0-0-0

 _"Oh, a Hunter, are ya?" she asked, almost mockingly. She had every right to give him that tone._

 _Her twin daggers continued to drip the blood of the beasts he had failed to cut down. She had saved him when he had gotten himself cornered. Too many of those wolf-men had chased him. He tried to fight them off but they had smacked him around. If she hadn't been up on the rafters doing who-knows-what he would have been dead._

 _She was dressed oddly. At least to him. She donned a layered black cloak, a dark suit, and had a beaked mask to ward off the stench of the plague. He couldn't help but liken her to a crow._

 _"…And an outsider," she sighed after looking at him again. A flick of her hands wiped the blood off her blades. Another swipe, too fast for him to see, and the daggers combined into a sword and had been tucked away into a holster he couldn't see. Her cloak hid them well… along with any other tricks she might have hidden._

 _"I-I'm sorry," he bowed his head. He needed to show his savior his appreciation. "Thank you for saving me!"_

 _"What a mess you've been caught up in," she muttered while looking at the trail of corpses she had made at his expense. "And tonight of all nights. Here, use it to return to the safe haven. You don't belong here… little rabbit."_

 _He didn't see where she pulled them out from. She took a step forward and placed the odd instruments into his hands. Hunter Marks, his mind had told him as if he knew what they were already. If he consumed one, he could magically be transported back to the lantern the Little Ones kept lit. And he could use that to escape back into the Dream._

 _He thought about it. Honestly. He could have returned to the Doll to make his body stronger with all the blood echoes he had just gained. But not through his own merits. Through this stranger who saved him._

 _"Did he tell you nothing?" she continued to mutter, watching him. She clicked her tongue behind her mask. "You must prepare yourself for the worst. There are no humans left. They are all… flesh hungry beasts now. They can't be reasoned with. They will kill you if they spot you. Best to kill them before they do."_

 _So… he was right. The things he had killed had been humans at some point. The more he lasted in this Hunt the more the fog started to clear up. It felt like a dream, honestly. But the more he fought, the more he killed, the less it seemed like a dream and more like reality._

 _They didn't tell him what would happen if he died. He didn't want to die. No one wanted to die, not even the beasts he had slain. They fought tooth and nail against him knowing if they didn't give it their all they would surely die. And he cut them down anyways without a second thought._

 _He was frightened something else would come along to do the same. He had almost perished against the beast at the bridge if Gascoigne hadn't shown up._

 _"What's wrong?" the woman asked when she didn't see him do anything. "A Hunter nerved by a few beasts?"_

 _He heard her snicker. The same humorless noise as if he were a part of some joke she had heard a thousand times._

 _"…No matter," she went on. Her head lifted. He could feel her gaze behind her mask. "Without fear in our hearts, we're little different from the beasts ourselves. Enough trembling in your boots. A Hunter must Hunt."_

 _She pointed towards the back of the church. There was a door that would lead him further into the city._

 _She said nothing more as she leaned against the support beam and stared out the window. But even with her back turned against him, he could feel her attention locked on him, judging him._

 _A Hunter must Hunt, he repeated the words in his mind._

 _He chose to embrace the fear when he walked out of the church to continue on with his mission._

0-0-0

The silverback sneered at him. It slammed its fists down onto the ground, reared its head back, and unleashed a threatening roar inches away from his face.

 _I'll kill you_ , it had told him.

Bell was left shaking. His eyes were wide. He couldn't move.

The silverback sniffed once…

…And turned towards Hestia.

The goddess fumbled onto her rear and backpedaled away. She was screaming his name, trying to get him out of his stupor. The silverback took a few steps forward and began to reach for her.

"BELL!" she shouted again with dread and desperation. She could move no better than he. She was frozen with fear. She couldn't command herself to get up and run away.

Bell couldn't move not because he was consumed with fear. Fear coursed through him, of course, just as it would through any creature who desired to live. He did not shake with fear. His eyes hadn't bored into the silverback out of something as weakly driven as fear.

It was outrage that had kept him in place. He was shaking because his blood was boiling.

 _Don't touch her!_

He had wanted to shout those words. He opened his mouth to do just that.

The thing to come out of his mouth had been a beastly roar. It came from his own vocal cords that blasted through the air, shaking everything within the vicinity. A ripple of pressure ran through the silverback's fur.

The monster flinched and took a reflexive step away from Bell after sensing the presence of its predator. It bared its teeth but did not attack. It was only provoked to defend itself after sensing its life in peril.

Hestia was staring at him as if he had never seen him before.

Her expression hadn't fazed Bell. His heart was thundering. Branding his knife, he kicked off the ground. His newfound status had propelled him forward, launching off the ground like an arrow straight for the silverback. He reeled the knife back, ready to lunge it into the chest it had exposed in its attempt to step off.

He slammed into its chest with enough force to send it reeling. His shoulder slammed into its thick chest hard enough to see its muscles coil upon impact. But that's not what he wanted. He wanted to pierce through its skin and puncture its heart.

…His knife had shattered as soon as it touched its chest. Just like his armor, it was nowhere near strong enough to deal with a higher level monster.

Instinct drove him to _Quicken_ away before the silverback could recover.

He couldn't hurt it. His bare fists did more damage to it than his equipment. And he knew he couldn't kill it with his hands only.

He needed better weapons. He needed _his_ weapons. Those daggers his goddess had borrowed.

"…Bell, what did you—" she tried to ask him as soon as he was within range.

A large shadow loomed over her. The mother arachnid had caught up to them.

"Goddess!" he shouted, tackled her to the ground, and used the momentum to have them both rolling away. The arachnid's legs stabbed into the ground after them, trying to skewer them.

It took more effort for him to get up than last time. He was getting tired at having to constantly move like this. If he could only get a break to catch his breath…

 _Finally,_ Fate had answered him. The silverback had charged at the arachnid and challenged it. It bashed its fists against the spider's side, making it double over. The spider was quick to recover; it ignored them in favor of lashing back against the silverback.

Bell used this opportunity to get away. He pulled his goddess along as they entered a neighborhood. He didn't mean to drag more people into this. But he needed to use the buildings as cover to regain his stamina.

He picked up his goddess again and leapt over a wall. He pressed his back against it while keeping his eyes locked on the sky in case something else came along.

"Bell," Hestia panted along with him. "You're hurt."

"I'm fine, goddess," he assured her. "They're only a few scratches. I'm just glad you're safe."

They couldn't get anything else to say. A chill went down his spine as he heard a new set of howling.

He put his hand over his goddess' mouth and tried to make his body as quiet as possible. He even held his breath because he was breathing so hard. Now if only he could get his heart to stop beating so hard…

There was something on the other side of the wall and all he could see was its shadow looming over. It had a long neck with a horse-like head— it was the baby dragon. It had followed them this far out and had entered the neighborhood. He heard it sniff the air, linger in place for a moment— his heart skipped a beat and Hestia clutched onto him after seeing the same thing— and then carry on down the road.

They waited a few seconds for it to pass by.

"Goddess, they're after you," he stated.

"Bell, I promise you I didn't do anything when I got here!" she defended herself. "I read the sign! I didn't feed any of the monsters! I didn't! I didn't have anything to feed them with even when I wanted to!"

"No, it's not that," he shook his head. "It's what Maria drenched you with. Whatever it is… it's luring them towards you. They'll keep coming after you."

He watched her face turn as white as snow.

They'll keep coming after her. They'll keep chasing after her. There were too many of them and trying to flee for this long had been nothing but a miracle.

He couldn't run away. He would protect his goddess even if it meant his life.

"Goddess, I need my weapons. Do you have them?"

She fidgeted around with her hands clenched against her purse. A look of guilt crossed her face. "…I wanted to tell you. I wanted today to be special so I could tell you properly. I… I sold them."

His heart dropped to his stomach. He couldn't manage to ask the single word at the tip of his tongue.

"B-But!" Hestia spun around to look at him square in the eye. "I got you a better weapon than those daggers! Here!"

She pulled out of her purse a slender case… with the seal of the Hephaestus Blacksmiths. What she pulled out of the case was a dagger unlike any other he had ever seen. It was black, not from the metal used in its creation. It was black from the plethora of runes carved along its side. This was no mere magic weapon. This was something so intricate and beyond comprehension he couldn't even fathom what sort of magic lay hidden within.

She pricked her finger with it. Her blood ran down its edge. His breath was taken away as the runes across it lit up with her divine blessings, with her Falna— the same divine blessings she had given him to become an adventurer.

Gently, she placed the dagger in his hands. "This is my gift to you, Bell. This is the Hestia Knife. There is no other weapon like it anywhere. It is for an adventurer who is growing too fast for their own good, like you. So long as you believe in it— no, so long as you believe in _us,_ in _Hestia Familia,_ this blade will never betray you.

"It is as strong as you are, Bell. If you are weak, it will be weak. But if you become the strongest, it will be the strongest weapon."

He could feel it vibrate in his grip. He could feel his being resonate with it. It almost seemed alive. Almost as if it were starting to wake up from a long sleep.

There was more than deep magic woven into this blade. Yes, he could feel it. This had the blessings of his goddess within. The same blessings that had been granted to him. The same choice to accept a newbie right off the streets into her home.

"We should run," she said. "Bell, use it if you have the chance to cut a monster or two. We gotta run where we can find help."

"…You're right," he tucked the dagger back into its sheath and drew something out of his backpack. It was another miracle that had managed to survive.

"…Bell, why are you handing me your shirt?" she asked him.

His face was boiling red for what he was about to do… but it needed to be done. "G-Goddess, please forgive me for what I'm about to do. But it needs to be done!"

Without warning (and with his eyes closed) Bell reached for the cut of her dress…

…And tore it straight down the middle. He pried it off of her.

"BELL!" she almost screamed, covering her modesty with her arms. "I-If you want to do it that much then wait until we get home! NO WAIT! That's not what I meant! T-There's a proper method to doing things! You're going way too fast— what're you doing?"

He turned his back to her while he distracted himself with his hands. He tore her dress into strips and tied them around his wrists and around his neck.

"It's in your hair too so some might be able to track you still," he said while he worked. "I'm going to get their attention and draw them away. Use that chance to get away. Go find help."

"…What?" her voice sounded lost. "Bell… No! No, I can't do that! I _won't_ do it! I'm not going to leave you!"

"I can't lose you!" he shouted. He lost control of himself. He couldn't hold his emotions back. The tears began to fall as his fears began to overwhelm him. He lasted this long being a man but in the end he was a scared little boy. "I can't lose you, goddess. Please. You're the only family I've had since Grandfather. I care about you too much goddess. That's why I'm doing this."

He couldn't look at her. If he did… he might regret his choice. He might lose what strength in his fortitude he had right now.

"Bell…" she whispered. She put a hand on his shoulder.

He almost lost himself to that touch. "G-Goddess… I was really happy you wanted to go on a date with me. Even if as just goddess and adventurer."

He didn't look her way— _couldn't_ look her way as he abruptly stood and _Quickened_ away from her before she could get another word.

0-0-0

He began to remember the Dream. Little pieces. Small images. Brief hints and noises without meaning. But he could combine all of them to form a picture. It was like a jigsaw puzzle with the pieces scattered. He always had the pieces. He just needed to put them together.

He stalked the streets. His heels clacking against the floor. Those living within each building had shut their windows and hidden themselves away, too afraid to come near the confrontation and gain the attention of the monsters.

So much like Yarnham. So much like the night of the Hunt.

The baby dragon lifted its head as the wind gifted it with the sweet scent of the Pungent Juice— a beast-luring concoction fasted by the blood of other beasts. It worked just as well to the monsters of the Dungeon, strangely. Or, perhaps, not so strangely. Perhaps the monsters of the Dungeon and the beasts of the Hunt were similar in some sort of way.

He would have dismissed it as coincidence. But something nagged at him in the back of his mind. _Secrets are secrets for a reason, especially when the secrets are unseemly._ He had uncovered some atrocious secret within the Dream. He couldn't remember what it was, and time would remind him, but it was the feeling of the nostalgia that told him— that assured him the monsters and beasts were connected somehow.

The baby dragon turned around after smelling him. He didn't run from it. He chose to face it instead. The Hestia Knife glowed like white fire as it continued to attune itself to his status. It would need experience, however, in order to fully awake. It was still half-asleep.

He chose the baby dragon because of how close it was to his goddess. This was the first immediate threat. He would kill this one and then move on to those battling in the park still. He would finish this creature off in a matter of seconds— before the two monsters realized their interest had escaped and they chased after the scent.

He raised the knife as he took a stance he hadn't taken in this world. It was the one he had earned through the efforts of the Hunt.

"A Hunter must Hunt, right, Miss Eileen?"


	5. Chapter 5

"It was a few years before you showed up," Hephaestus began once they had settled into her office. "It caused quite the scare and Orario hasn't fully recovered yet. They first began with a few missing adventurers. It was thought they had fallen in the Dungeon or had gotten involved with the wrong crowds. The missing individuals didn't have the most pristine of reputations."

She took a moment to take a sip from her tea. It was a quiet night with only a few candles lighting her office on North Main. The building was one of the first stores set up when she taught the children her secrets of the forge. Rather than moving into the more industrious shop in Babel Tower, she chose to leave her office in this building with her residency nearby. This was her home.

Hestia sat in a chair she had to drag from another room. This office wasn't where Hephaestus met clients to discuss contracts. This was her private workshop to deal with paperwork in silence.

It was also the safest room, having need to be entered through a secret latch. Even the window that looked out into the street had been reinforced with magic and hardened glass.

"But then bodies began to turn up," Hephaestus went on. "I didn't care much when it happened so the specifics are a little hazy. I'm only going off of what my children mentioned upon rumors and the morning reports. They said the bodies were carved by a blade. Some other adventurer was going around killing them.

"It became evident these weren't just random killings. It would become clear the victims belongs to a specific _familia_ and those aligned to it. And then, he changed his tactics. He would attack groups in the middle of broad daylight for everyone to see. And he always left at least one of them spared, to run away and tell his friends what he had just seen.

"They called him the Crow. A layered cloak woven like a pair of feathered wings, a black pressed suit, and a doctor's mask. He looked like a giant Crow. Supposedly, he came out of nowhere and vanished without a trace before someone more competent could come to reprimand him. They likened him more to a demon than another adventurer.

"He had a bounty and a number of quests to capture him," Hephaestus looked away for a moment as she tried to draw on the memory. "But all of this happened in the outskirts of town. I remember most of them didn't care about capturing what they thought was another mugger— a deranged one with how he dressed. I remember thinking the same thing. I ignored it as well as everyone else.

"…One goddess took up the quest. She sent her entire _familia_ after the Crow. They were wiped out before they knew what hit them. I remember Brynhildr turning to Freya for help. Freya refused her since she had nothing left to offer. All of her children were dead. I heard from Freya she went back to her home crying her eyes out.

"No one had heard from Brynhildr since. She was found in an alleyway on South-Second and Easter-Fifth. A deep stab wound from her back had done her in."

Hestia hadn't taken a drink from the tea Hephaestus placed in her hands. The twin daggers rested on her lap. Their weight continued to grow as the goddess of the forge went on with her story.

It was the ultimate taboo to kill a god. Even gods didn't go out of their way to kill one of their own. There had been events where they pitted their children against another's but they always left each other alone. A human perishing could have their soul transferred to the afterworld or could be reincarnated into a new vessel for the future.

But when a god dies? There's nothing left. Nothing.

"Orario was in utter chaos," Hephaestus leaned forward on her desk. " _Familias_ made pacts with each other to watch each other's backs. The city underwent curfew protocols with nightly patrols organized by the Guild. It didn't stop the murders from happening. The Crow continued to kill anyone who got in his way. He killed a total of fifty-seven adventurers and three gods.

"And then, he was just gone," she finished with a shrug. "Poof. As if he was never there. Murders still happened on the streets, sure, but they were done by petty thugs trying to take advantage of the fear. Those were dealt with quickly. Slowly, order was returning to the city. But the fear has never been forgotten."

Hestia was practically shaking where she sat. Her fingers ran through the side of the short sword. "T-Then… this is the weapon of the Crow?"

"There's no mistaking it," Hephaestus' eye gazed down at the metal. She noted immediately the shimmer it gave off from the dim candlelight. No other metal known could refract light like that. "The curve of the blade is made to carve flesh with the nook for disarming adventurers. They can detach to become swift double-daggers and combine to become a heavy short sword for power. They're designed to adapt to any build."

Hestia looked down at the weapon once more. The gravity of it was crushing her legs. She didn't know. She just thought they were nifty things Bell had picked up randomly. He said they had been in his possession as soon as he woke up from his nap down in the dungeon.

Had the Crow been near her Bell? The thought of that devastated her. No, that couldn't have been it. Something like this wasn't something the Crow would easily give up. Some other adventurer had probably found them, discovered what they were when trying to get them appraised, panicked in fear of the Crow coming after them, and then dumped them on the first adventurer they found.

She swore if she ever found Nameless Adventurer X she will strangle him!

"How did your child get in possession of them?" Hephaestus asked in all seriousness.

"He said he just found them in the dungeon," Hestia answered honestly… but withheld the part about Bell dozing off. Hey, she had to save face too! "We didn't know what they were so I thought about getting them appraised by you."

"Better me than anyone else," Hephaestus nodded gravely. "A lot of gods lost their children to the Crow. They still hold a grudge against him. Some might have been willing to accept your child as the Crow simply out of spite. Those weapons are an extreme taboo, Hestia. They've tasted the blood of adventurers and gods alike."

Hestia decided to wrap them back up in the cloth. She couldn't bear the sight of them any longer. The black metal frightened her. Who knew they had such a dark flavor text?

The weight of them could still be felt. She wasn't willing to let them out of her grip, however.

She thought frantically. Did anyone at all see Bell with these weapons? He was the only adventurer of _Hestia Familia._ He didn't have a supporter. And she was sure he didn't join any other team when he went into the dungeons. He was a solo member.

Perhaps that half-elf knew. She was Bell's advisor and sponsor. It was likely Bell told her about this super cool weapon he woke up with.

Nah. The Guild was pretty resourceful. Someone there would have recognized the blades.

"What do you plan on doing, Hestia?" Hephaestus asked while she tapped a finger against the desk.

"I don't know…" Hestia sighed as she slouched forward. "I want to get rid of them. These things are too dangerous for Bell to have. But it's not like I can just throw them away! Someone else might pick them up and wind up in the same position! And if I keep them then the Crow might come looking for his stuff! Oh, you know what? I think I might dump them on someone else like what they did with Bell. That way the Crow will come after them and not him!"

Hephaestus raised a brow, "I thought you said he found them."

"This is just a theory," Hestia waved it off while she thought. "Now… maybe I should give them to someone in Loki's _familia…_ "

Hephaestus chose to ignore that comment.

"How about I buy them off of you?" she suggested.

At the mention of money, Hestia perked up. But she held back her impulses with a dainty cough into her hand. "Hephaestus, that's not very nice. I know I'm not the richest goddess out there but—"

"Forty million val," Hephaestus offered.

The breath Hestia gasped sucked in all the air in the room.

The goddess of the forge waited calmly for the goddess of the hearth to recover.

Hestia was sweating bullets. She gritted her teeth and responded with tremendous forced pain, "I… have to… decline. You're family, Hephaestus. I care about you. Something like this is too dangerous to have—"

"Fifty million," Hephaestus cut her off.

Hestia couldn't say anything. She flinched as though an arrow had struck through her chest. She even fell off the chair. Hephaestus took a drink of her tea while she watched Loli Bigboobs climb back to her seat.

"You tell me that horror story and you want these things?!" Hestia almost shouted as she waved the clothed blade in her hands. "I'd rather toss them to someone I dislike, not someone I want to live through to tomorrow! Hephaestus, even if it's you, you're putting your children in danger too. What if this guy comes looking for his weapon?"

"Fifty-five million," Hephaestus said with finality. "Half in val right now and the other half in promissory notes. I'll even grant you a high-end security vault with the Guild to secure everything."

It was a good thing Hestia was sitting. All the color and life drained away from her body. Her body sagged a little as her eyes went livid.

Hephaestus folded her hands on the desk as she considered, "I do not fear the Crow, Hestia. He could be dead for all I know. But what I do know is you are in possession of his weapon. I am very much interested in studying how it was crafted. I want to make things that are just like them. I could ask you to hand them over, but a matter of professional pride obligates me to make you an offer.

"Consider this. You are hardly making ends meet with your current job. With this money you could move to a better location. You can afford to feed yourself and your child. You could buy him the weapon and armor he needs rather than renting out through the Guild. I'd even be willing to give you a discount if you buy through me."

Hestia couldn't help but agree. She and Bell could buy a small house in the rural district. They didn't need to be in that damp and rundown church. She'd be able to feed him more than just scraps. She'd be able to buy him clothes and gear. He'd probably still want to be an adventurer. She can fully support him like the goddess she was supposed to be.

He was growing so fast though. Like a toddler constantly growing out of his clothes. Bell's growth was too fast. He was becoming a powerful adventurer at neck breaking speeds.

With this money she could constantly buy him what he needed as he grew out of it. But that felt like such a waste. They'd probably blow out of their budget before they could fully settle into their new life.

The solution was right in front of her. How silly of her to ponder about this.

"Okay," she said with a firm nod. "I accept your offer. And I'd like to spend some of that money right now on a service!"

Hephaestus raised her brow again.

"I want you to make a weapon for my Bell!"

And thus, after a few (dreadfully exhausting) days, the Hestia Knife was born.

0-0-0

Right now, Hestia was running.

Granted, she couldn't run bare chested! She had to steal— _borrow_ a shirt hanging to dry as she ran. It was bad enough her boobs were flopping around everywhere! She already missed her dress. It was cute, tight, and held up her boobs without needing a bra. But, above all else, it's what made Bell ogle her at every chance.

He thought she wouldn't notice. Ha!

Right now she was running away from the carnage that was Monsterphilia. Something had let the monsters loose at the festival. And because of that blonde _genki_ spilling her disgusting red gunk all over Hestia did the monsters chase after her. Bell chose to stay behind and fend them off, tearing off her stained clothes and wrapping them around himself.

Though she ran, she wasn't going to abandon her only child. Bell was hers! He was the first and only member of her _familia._ He was also the man she loved. There was no way she was going to just leave him be!

Her running had led her to the Guild.

She threw open the doors and shouted with all her breath.

"MONSTERS!"

All activity within the Guild stopped. All eyes were upon her. But no one moved.

Her hair was a wreck, she still had that red gunk staining her skin, and she came bursting in with clothes too large for her. She was panting and sweating. They probably thought she was crazy.

She caught her breath and tried again. "Someone, help! Monsters are attacking at the festival grounds! They all got loose!"

There was a pregnant silence as the heads of Guild secretaries and adventures eyed the other.

"To battle!" one of them shouted, raising his sword over his head and letting out a war cry.

"HOORAH!" shouted the others in his team. They drew their weapons and ran out of the Guild, nearly knocking Hestia to the floor.

There was a universal shrug as the rest of the adventurers looked at another. They didn't draw their weapons but they did hurry out of the Guild. Meanwhile, the members of the Guild ran around shouting orders. A security detail was being organized to support the adventurers and regain civil control.

Maybe, just maybe, everyone will be on time to rescue Bell.

0-0-0

Bell retched his arm out of the weakness of the baby dragon's underbelly. He pulled out of it a chunk of meat that could have been a lung, or a stomach, or even the heart. It was hard to tell considering it was nothing more than a mesh of squishy pink gunk in his grip.

The baby dragon let out a gargle of a scream. It wobbled in its steps with its head trying to turn towards Bell's general location. It fell over before it could do anything against him. It twitched a few times before lying dead.

He dug the Hestia Knife into its throat to make sure. His paranoia from the Hunt had him making sure whatever he killed _remained dead._

He moved, _Quickening_ out of the alleyway and back towards the scuffle created by the mother arachnid and the silverback. They were still going at it as soon as he crouched down at the edge. The arachnid had wrapped silk around the silverback's arm and was trying to enclose it like a fly. But the silverback was strong and was able to resist while batting its other fist against the spider's head.

They both paused as they sensed his approach. It was the draft of wind from the alleyway that sent the Pungent Juice's odor their way. They stopped their struggling to turn their attention towards him.

Bell took a few deep breaths to steady his nerves. He often tried avoiding multiple large creatures in the Hunt. One he could dance around. But two could easily pin him in place.

He adjusted the grip of the Hestia Knife. The runes glowed as the metal started to heat up. He could feel the blade pulse after killing the baby dragon. It was fully awake and adjusting itself based on his parameters. Its stats were matching his.

Still, he wished to have the Blade of Mercy. While the Hestia Knife could cut through the baby dragon's scales like nothing, he was more familiar with Eileen's inheritance. It would have made him feel more comfortable being in this position.

The silverback came charging first. The arachnid held back, being cautious or waiting to stab the giant ape in the back and steal its prey.

Bell could use this.

He _Quickened_ forward, sliding underneath the first swing of the silverback's arm. All the while, he dug the knife into the meat of the silverback's thigh and gave it a twist. The silverback let out a howl of pain as it stumbled to one knee. It tried to swat Bell aside but he had _Quickened_ away.

He came at the mother arachnid next. He wasn't going to give it time to catch him off guard. He wasn't going to expose his back to it. It was the bigger threat of the two and he needed to kill it quickly before the silverback could recover.

He cut off one of the legs when it tried to pin him down. Its fangs clacked ferociously as it moved back, reassessing the situation. It only made him draw closer to it. But rather than facing it head-on, he _Quickened_ around to its side. His knife plunged into its waist and he pulled in an arch to create a long gash. Blood splattered everywhere.

It leapt away from him. For a split second, he debated about following close behind. He could get under its body and kill it there. But his instincts told him differently. It was probably a trap.

His instincts had never been wrong down in the Hunt. Ignore them and you're destined to die. He had seen the civilians of Yharnam and his fellow Hunters ignore their instincts.

He dropped flat to the floor based on only the shift in air pressure. One of the park trees flew over his head and crashed a few feet from him. Had he ignored his instincts and remained standing, or even tried to _Quicken_ in any direction, then he would have taken a direct blow from something as thick as he was tall.

The silverback let out a roar of frustration as it tore another tree out of its roots. It limped forward, using the tree as a crutch before lifting it up to use as a club.

Bell waited until the last possible second to _Quicken_ to the side. A few branches scratched his face but his jacket took most of the damages. He had been able to get out of the way while fooling the silverback into attacking exactly how he wanted. The overhead chop gave him some recovery time.

He moved, kicking off the ground and leaping for the silverback. It tried to swat him out of the air but Bell flipped over while using the traveling arm as a vault. He spun and drove the Hestia Knife directly into the silverback's chest.

It cut through the metal bindings, the chest cavity, and heart of the silverback with no resistance. The blade lit up as it drank in the exceli of the felled beast.

The silverback lifted its arms to reach Bell, but he withdrew the knife and kicked off its chest. The beast fell on its back and went limp.

Bell never stopped moving. He made sure to land on his feet. He could never find himself in a position that would compromise his mobility. It was why Hunters wore such light clothing, why they wielded the Trick Weapons, and why they learned to dodge without rolling or having both feet off the ground.

 _Quickening_ was a technique founded on this principle. It accelerated his movements, temporarily turning his body into dust and ash, just so he could match the superior speeds of the beasts of the Hunt.

The mother arachnid never stood a chance now that it was alone. He had fought worst monsters down in the pits of Yharnam.

It threw silk his way. He raised his arm to have it stick there. The creature thought it had him. Perhaps to a less experienced Hunter this tactic was seen as idiotic. And… he'd have to agree. He could already hear Eileen's badgering over his carelessness.

The arachnid began to retract its silk, pulling him in.

He planted his feet on the ground and reached out for the silk. With a tug of his own, and a grunt of effort, he jerked the silk back.

The arachnid stumbled forward in surprise. It had tried to use its severed front limb to halt itself. With nothing to support that, it fell forward and struggled to get back up.

That was when Bell leapt forward, _Quickening_ before it was too late.

His hand plunged into one of the eye sockets of the spider. It let out a chatter of noises in agony as he reached forward. Something grossly squishy could be felt by his fingertips.

…He wish he hadn't taken off his gloves for Monsterphilia.

With a howl of defiance, he grabbed onto that squishy substance and yanked it out with all of his strength. Blood flew everywhere and coated half of his body.

The feeling of being drenched in blood was a feeling too familiar with him. It was almost… welcoming.

Whatever he grabbed— yet another pinkish organ he didn't want to know what was— had made the mother arachnid go into a frenzy. It bucked around on its hind legs and rolled onto its back. Its legs twitched as though trying to crawl on the surface of the sky.

Acid spewed out of its mouth while silk dripped out of its hind. It twitched once more before going limp.

"…I wonder if I can sell this…" Bell muttered while he looked at the strand of silk still wrapped around his arm. It wasn't exactly a rare drop item but spider silk this durable could still be made into something. Clothing, he thought. Or maybe rope. He couldn't remember because he hadn't been able to access that deep into the dungeon where arachnids at this level were common.

He decided to cut off what he could and stick it in his pocket. It made him also ponder where his bag had fallen to. It had been pried off of him during all the chaos.

At least he still had Syr's wallet on him.

…Wait.

He had Syr's wallet. He was supposed to hand it to her at the festival.

Did that mean she was caught up in the chaos too?!

"Oh no!" he shouted while pressing his hands to his head in a panic. "I gotta find her! I gotta make sure she's okay!"

The sound of screeching made him pause. A series of shadows casted over him.

He looked up to find three harpies circling around him. They had probably followed his scent to this location.

One dove straight for him.

He didn't need to use _Quickening_ this time. It was a simple as taking a step to the side at the last second. The harpy's talons missed him by inches. It was just about to fly back up when his hand latched onto its leg. He dragged it back down, dug the Hestia Knife through its back, and wrapped his arm around its neck.

He didn't hesitate to break it.

"I really don't have time for you," he told the dead creature. "I have to find Miss Syr and make sure she's okay."

0-0-0

Maria walked through the streets with gliding steps. Her eyes peered around at the chaos. Most of the monsters had spread out and left the festival grounds. Most of them had pursued Bell after using the Pungent Juice on his goddess. The ones that lingered ignored the alluring stench in favor of their own avarice. They attacked the general populace indiscriminately.

Adventures tried to stop them. All weaklings that had taken the day off from the dungeons in favor of the festival. They were able to best the weakest of the monsters but nothing from the lower pits of the dungeon.

But there was the occasional high-leveled adventurer that could pose as a threat.

Maria killed them as soon as they dared to challenge the monsters. They thought she was another adventurer and made the foolish mistake of exposing their back to her.

Right now it was quiet. Stands were knocked down and there were plenty of corpses and wounded surrounding her. There were few running around with healers and medic personnel treating them. They all paid her little to no mind. She was just a background character for the time being.

She crossed her arms as she wondered how Bell was doing. Perhaps she had expected too much from him? Even the best Hunters could fall prey if they were caught off guard and surrounded.

She unsheathed her Rakuyo and parried a silver stream coming at her side.

"Oh," she groaned as she lowered her weapon. But never did she lower her guard. "It's you. I suppose this works in my favor. I did come here for the _Loki Familia_ after all."

Aiz Wallenstein readied her sword. But, alas, the girl had yet to learn her lesson. She was still wounded from their last encounter in the lower dungeon.

Maria almost let out a sigh. Almost. She had to remind herself she did not come here for Bell Cranel. She was here to make good with Oedon's message to Loki and her team.

Aiz narrowed her eyes, "There's blood on your dress. It's not monster blood."

"Perceptive," Maria tipped her hat at the girl. "Only the best can tell the difference. But what of it?"

"There were slash wounds from blades on some of the dead," she pressed. "You killed them."

"Yes…" Maria lowered her head slightly. Her fingers curled tighter around the Rakuyo. "But what of it?"

It was all Aiz needed. She leapt at Maria almost as fast as a Hunter using _Quickening_. Even with her wounds was she still this fast. Rather, she was ignoring her wounds in this burst of speed and strength.

Their blades clashed. The girl was exceptionally skilled. Her moves were graceful… but not flawless. She was still young. For all her skill, she lacked experience.

Plus, she was an _adventurer._ She spent all her time battling monsters.

Maria was a Hunter. She fought monsters, heretics, the innocent, and her fellow Hunters who fell to the sweet temptation of the blood.

Aiz was nothing compared to Ludwig and Gerhman.

She was nothing compared to her vanquisher, Bell Cranel.

But there was still passion in those eyes. There was a fire that burned behind that doll-like face. Aiz had picked up the sword for something that drove her. It was the sole purpose of her existence. Hardly anything else mattered until this mysterious goal was achieved.

Aiz saw Maria as an obstacle; something to overcome. Maria was one of the many goals she had set for herself.

It was probably why she lost this second time.

Maria parried the sword while snapping apart the Rakuyo. She spun on her heels, using her cape as a distraction to the sword maiden. She brought the katana around first— Aiz raised her sword to deflect the sinister edge— and Maria drove the dagger underneath the shadow of her prior strike. Aiz's eyes widened. It was her instincts that saved her; the girl moved before her eyes saw the silver gleam of the Rakuyo dagger.

 _BANG!_

Aiz lifted her sword to block. But, the sort of weapon Maria had pulled out was not found in this land. Gunpowder had yet to be discovered. She might have considered it an arcane instrument at best. Her sword met to deflect the bullet, had miscalculated the power behind the miniscule object, and almost had her sword flown out of her hands.

Maria _Quickened_ around her flank, kicked her sword away, and used the same momentum to kick the back of the girl's knees. Aiz fell to one knee with her other hand landing on the cobblestone to catch herself.

Maria pointed the edge of the Rakuyo katana against Aiz's artery.

"Your will is strong but your wounds have slowed you down," Maria clicked her tongue with disappointment. "Such a mistake might cost you your life. Where is your master?"

Aiz gave nothing in return. She stared directly at Maria in defiance. But the girl wore her emotions on her sleeve despite her stoic expression. She was trying to find a way to live.

"That's a whole lotta 'nuff of that," Loki sneered as she stepped out of the alleyway. Her eyes glared at Maria with utmost animosity. "Don't 'cha be hurtin' what belongs to me. If ya hurt so much as a hair on my Aizu's head—"

In response, Maria pressed the katana against Aiz's skin. The sword maiden craned her neck to the side to lessen the tension. A small trickle of blood slipped out.

"You're in no position to make demands," Maria countered in a dull tone. She lessened the pressure but did not remove the blade from her skin. "All of this could have been avoided. But now all the deaths from today are on your hands. You should have listened to Lord Oedon's request. Perhaps now you'll listen after watching your favorite pet—"

Loki twitched. The pressure in the air increased. She was being pushed to the point of desperation to where she might draw upon the forbidden powers of her Arkanum.

Aiz twitched as well. She saw no opening within Maria's stance but would have died if she did nothing. She drew up her magical energies and pulled a last ditch effort that might have saved her.

But Maria also twitched. A cold chill swept through her as a sensation she was too familiar with consumed her. It was the instinct of the Hunt singing to her. A powerful beast was approaching. A predator that might be able to challenge her. She could feel its presence in the air before hearing its voice.

"MARIA!" Bell Cranel shouted as his body was faster than the wind. Only the vague outline of his body could be seen through the bellowing gust of ash and mist. A trail of fresh blood followed after his image, flowing off of his body after being drenched in the ichor of monsters.

Maria smiled as she _Quickened_ away from both Aiz and Loki. She did not care of the goddess was going to unleash the full wrath of the heavens or the sword maiden use her ultimate trump.

This feeling! This shout of hunger! This bloodlust!

"At last you remember me, Bell Cranel!" Maria shouted with euphoria as she met against Bell.

Her Rakuyo lit up sparks against his knife. It was an instrument she hadn't seen before. It was a simple knife with the blade as long as his hand. But there was so much power behind it. Her eyes could pick up the silver metal decorated with hundreds of runes on both sides. They were glowing with a mystical light.

The observation only lasted a second. She drew her pistol and fired a shot just after they exchanged blows. Bell's eyes widened at her actions and had been able to dodge with the bullet flying past his ear. It did nothing more than clip a few frays of his hair.

They went at another without a second's hesitation. Their moves were an endless flow of combinations. Every swing of their weapons was one stroke being channeled in an endless stream. They danced around the other, _Quickening_ when needed or circling around the other while trying to pin each other with their legs just as with their weapons. The first to expose anything would receive a shank or bullet. There was no honor in their attempts. It was nothing more than petty survival.

This was how Hunters fought!

"Why?!" he demanded as he parried her strike to his liver. "Why did you use that Pungent Juice on my goddess?! She almost died!"

"So you may remember the Hunter's Nightmare," she said calmly. Her heart was racing, however. She could barely maintain her excitement. "And it would appear it had worked. Do you remember the Hunt, Bell? Do you remember at last who I am and the sin you have wrought onto me?"

His silence was an answer of itself.

She frowned. Some of her pleasure fell.

Cold fury swept through her as they locked blades. Their faces were so close she could have kissed him.

Instead, she spat with venom, "You _don't_ remember me. You remember the Hunt but you've forgotten about me still, Bell Cranel? Why then do you seek me out like this?"

"Because I don't understand!" he bellowed with… were those tears in his eyes?!

He pushed her away. She used the momentum to roll and fire another bullet before rising back onto her feet.

He jerked his torso to the side just for the bullet to graze the hem of his jacket. He moved towards her on careful steps, not _Quickening_ to rush into being pierced by her Rakuyo. He kept his dagger pointed at her as he slid his feet forward cautiously.

She kept her stance low while splitting the Rakuyo once again. Her sixth sense kept track on Aiz and Loki at her back. She wasn't willing to have either of them attack her just for being interested in Bell. With her arms spread out and both weapons pointed downwards, she readied herself for any approach no matter what direction it came from.

"Lady Maria," Bell looked at her like a man trying to understand the cruelness of the gods. "Why? Why did you do all of this? I thought you were a Hunter. We're supposed to kill monsters. We were supposed to rid the world of monsters. I thought we were heroes who protected the people from monsters. Wasn't that why the Hunters were made?"

Maria didn't bother to hide her frown. "It is that naivety that confines me to despise you, _Good_ Hunter. You understand nothing. And I cannot exact my vengeance until you fully remember what you have done."

There was silence between them for a moment.

His eyes softened. He looked sad. Heartbroken even.

"When we met in the dungeon…" he said in a low voice. "I got your message too from the Guild. I thought you were a nice person. I thought we could have been… friends."

She chose to not comment on that foolish idealism.

Resolve returned to his face. It was the cross between an adventurer who sought to defeat a monster and a Hunter who needed to put down the frenzied. The grip of his knife tightened as he pointed its edge towards her head. The runes lit up brighter as a high-pitched whine began to climb.

"You've gone too far, Lady Maria! A Hunter must Hunt. Even if that means the Hunter must—"

Whatever he was going to say was cut off by a blast of archaic force. Maria only had an instant to throw up her arms before a concussion of arcane energy knocked the air out of her lungs and threw her off her feet. She couldn't land on her feet. She tucked her body and rolled while keeping her blades apart so to not stab herself. It took an effort on her part to stop rolling and to land in a crouch. It took a half second after that for the world to stop spinning and to regain her senses.

The cause of the explosion had been Bell's knife. The runes had lit up bright enough to become a torch. The energies stored within was too much for the metal to tolerate. One of the two would give and it had been the blade itself. It exploded in his grip.

Bell was unconscious. His body rested against the side of a building wall with his head sagged forward. His limbs lay sprawled gracelessly over a few broken pieces of wooden crates.

Maria rose to her feet while mentally taking tabs on her own injuries. There were a few aches and bruises. It was difficult to breath. It was fortunate her cloak had taken the brunt of the impact but not entirely. However, she could not afford to show weakness in the face of the enemy.

She had been prepared for Aiz to charge at her. She was well outside the blast range. But instead, the sword maiden had stood between the two of them. The blonde swordsman raised her sword at Maria, fully intending to stop the Huntress from going after Bell any further.

It wasn't the fortitude of Aiz that stopped Maria.

It wasn't even the oncoming sound of reinforcements down the road.

It was the disappointment of it all. Bell was unconscious. There was nothing she could do to further her plans. There was nothing she could do for them to talk. There was nothing she could do to have him remember more about the Hunter's Dream and Nightmare.

She sheathed her Rakuyo and reached into her inner coat pocket. She pulled out a Blood Vial and tossed it towards Aiz in a casual underhand. The sword maiden caught it while using her fingers to examine what it was. Her brows knitted as she pieced together enough information about it.

"Give that to him," Maria instructed as she reached into her pocket for something else. "Administer it directly into his blood. Consider it a healing potion from where I come from. I want him in good health for next time we meet."

Maria said nothing else as she stepped away from the sword maiden. She placed a Hunter's Mark to her face and activated its mystery.

"Wait," Aiz called out in challenge. But she did not move. Her own injuries had hindered her from fully opposing Maria if the Huntress was being serious.

Maria didn't stop. She vanished back into the current Hunter's Den.

0-0-0

"Hmm…" Gehrman grumbled as he looked around. "She really made a mess of things. So sloppy. This isn't like her."

The Doll said nothing as she pushed the elderly man in the wheelchair. She turned her head around in a similar fashion a human would have but it didn't hold the same emotion. It was more out of emulation than anything.

Humans and the Other Folk alike were roaming around. They were transporting the dead and wounded. They were cleaning up the damages. No one paid them any mind other than the occasional glance.

Her eyes took note of something important, however.

She stopped pushing him to walk around and examine what took her interest. Her head tilted in quizzical fashion as she knelt down to retrieve it.

Lying in the middle of the street was a black hilt. It belonged to something whole.

It was the core of her being that resonated with this instrument. It housed the power of one of the Lesser Ones… and the Paleblood.

"Gehrman," the doll called out as she rose. She cradled the instrument between her hands while approaching the elderly man. She extended her arms to show him, "Is it possible to repair a weapon like this?"

The old man leaned forward with his cane resting against the floor. He took a sniff and squinted his eyes. His vision wasn't as good as it had been in his youth. "Huh… It's no Trick Weapon. But, supposing we find the rest of the blade, yes, I think it's possible."

The Doll nodded as she moved back into her position to push Gehrman. "Very well. I will instruct the Little Ones to retrieve the fragments. Are we done here?"

Gehrman nodded with a gruff, "Yes, I suppose we are. This whole mess was pointless. There wasn't anyone present to witness the threat against Loki. And Maria says the boy wasn't present. I'm sorry, my dear. We'll have to wait until the next festival to enjoy ourselves."

He reached a hand over his shoulder to pat hers with fatherly affection. He smiled softly before facing back forward.

"Of course," the Doll responded without any matching emotion. It was something predetermined before he had made the suggestion.

She pushed him deeper away from the crowds and through one of the side streets. And in the next instant were they gone.

0-0-0

It was dark by the time Bell woke up… with the worst possible headache imaginable.

"Welcome back, Mister Cranel."

He would have jolted out of bed if his body didn't scream at him to take a chill. Plus, Lyu placed a firm hand on his shoulder to push him back down. She went back to changing the wet cloth to drape it over his head.

"Where am I?" he asked. He tried to fight off the lull to go back to sleep. But the feeling of the towel was so nice and cool. And Lyu's touch was so gentle. It reminded him of his mother.

"At the Benevolent Mistress," Lyu explained in a quiet voice. "In one of the spare rooms we offer for guests. The Sword Princess covered your fare."

"Eh?!" Bell was fully wide awake at that point as he shot up. He ignored the sharp pain in his gut and the ringing of his head. Most of the blood went to his face at the horror of her words. "A-A-Aiz Wallenstein paid for my room and for you to take care of me?! Ahhhhhhh, first I run away from her in the dungeon and then I show her something like this? I just want to cry…"

"You may want to keep your voice down," Lyu shoved him back down to the bed. She draped the towel back over his brow while pointing to the side of his bed.

Hestia was sitting on a stool propped on the side of the bed. Her body was over his legs while she snored quietly.

"Ah…" Bell scratched his cheek. His entire sword hand was bandaged. It was probably from when the Hestia Knife exploded. "Sorry."

"There is no need for you to apologize to me," Lyu stated flatly as she gathered her things. "If anything, I am the one who should apologize to you. You would not have been in the catastrophe of Monsterphilia if I did not ask you for that errand."

"T-That's right!" he almost leapt out of bed again… if Lyu didn't give him a vicious glare that made his blood run cold. "Syr! What happened to Syr?! Is she okay?"

"She is fine," Lyu answered simply. "She returned shortly after you left because she had forgotten her wallet. She was able to avoid the worst of it. She felt responsible for what happened to you and offered to treat your wounds. But Mama Mia suggested one of the other girls take care of you instead. I'll let her know you are awake if you'd like."

"I would appreciate it…" he said with a small smile. "I still have her wallet right…"

He squirmed under the sheets to reach into his pants pocket. But…

He wasn't wearing any pants!

"We returned it to her," Lyu explained after reading his thoughts. "You were drenched in blood and full of wounds, Mister Cranel. We had to remove your clothes and clean your body if we were to treat you. Your goddess was… adamant on doing it herself."

So not only had Aiz Wallenstein seen him in such an unmanly state but his goddess had also scrubbed him clean like a babe. Could today get any worse?!

"Eh… T-Thank you for taking care of me, Miss Lyu," Bell offered with a bit of an apology in his voice.

"Just Lyu is fine," she assured in a flat tone. "But I must ask, Mister Cranel. I see your goddess has returned. Has she not returned your weapons?"

"Um… it's okay if you call me Bell," he offered in exchange.

Lyu just gave him a flat look.

"R-Right. Well, um…" he fiddled with his fingers below the sheets. "Listen, Lyu, about that friend of yours… Exactly how upset do you think Eileen be if she learned I don't have the blades any longer."

Lyu blinked once, "I don't believe I ever shared with you the name of my associate."

"I, uh, just remembered I knew her too?" he half-explained and half-hoped it was enough for her to accept it.

Strangely, she did. She nodded once and then considered his prior question. "I would think… she would be most upset. Miffed, really. That such an honorable treasure with a rich history was lost and potentially in the wrong hands. If it were me, I would be disappointed beyond disgust with you, Mister Cranel. But, I digress, it is not my place to judge your carelessness."

With every word, Bell felt like he had done the worst thing imaginable. Really, it wasn't his fault! His goddess had sold the Blade of Mercy for reasons unknown! But, if he told Lyu about this then Lyu might tell Eileen about it and Eileen would get mad at Hestia instead of Bell. He didn't know how Eileen would react.

"Mister Cranel," Lyu's eyes narrowed to dangerous levels. "What happened to the Blade of Mercy?"

He yelped in fright as he pulled the covers over his face but just enough so his gaze couldn't break from hers. She towered over him with her hands on her hips. It was that stare that felt worse than anything thrown at him. Her eyes felt like twin daggers plunging into his core.

"I-Is there some way I can talk to her in person?" Bell asked in all honesty. "I think… I think I should tell her in person. I think she deserves that much rather than through a message. I promise to not run away, Lyu."

She considered it for a moment. Eventually, she breathed out and nodded her head. "That is an admirable thing to do, Mister Cranel. Very well. Wait here for a moment."

"You mean she's here?!" he all but shrieked. He had hoped he could get a day or two to figure out what to tell her.

"No, I'm afraid she's not," Lyu said to him while she circled around the bed to reach the door. "Just wait a moment. I will explain the rest when I return momentarily."

She stepped out of the room without making a sound. The door didn't creak nor did the knob click against the frame. He couldn't even hear her footsteps on the other side.

Bell sighed as he sat up to check on himself. There were a few bandages wrapped around his waist, all along his right arm from the fingertips to his forearm, and a few patches here and there. He felt sore and his muscles ached. His thighs felt rubbery from using _Quickening_ so excessively.

But he also felt revitalized. It felt like someone had injected him with a Blood Vial. But those sorts of things don't exist in Orario.

While he waited, he combed the hair of his goddess. She mumbled something in her sleep and snuggled closer around his leg. Pins and needles flared from his foot as some of the pressure shifted. He hadn't known his foot was asleep until she moved.

Lyu returned a minute later with a wooden box in her hands. Her eyes scanned his condition and questioned why he was sitting up. But she didn't voice her concern. She circled back around to her original position he had first seen her in.

She leaned over to hand him the box. At her nod, he opened it to find… a silver bell.

He immediately knew what it was.

"Have you heard of the tale about the boy and the wolf, Mister Cranel?" Lyu asked as her eyes sharpened.

"Uh… yeah?" he blinked as he looked at the bell. "Grandpa told me about it a few times. A boy would blow the horn for a wolf attack and the whole village would come running. But there was no wolf. He did it three times until a real wolf came. But no one came to his— O-Oh."

"Yes," Lyu nodded as she gestured at the bell. "Use it onlyfor emergencies, Mister Cranel. I am sure she will answer because she trusts you."

"But… what about the Blade of Mercy?" he asked.

"I'm sure she also understands why you sold it."

Bell almost jerked in his seat. Hell, he almost soiled the sheets. Lyu already knew what happened to the Blade of Mercy. And her choice of words suggested Eileen knew as well.

"I will stress you no further," Lyu said as she circled around the bed once more. "Would you like me to send in Syr? Or would you like to rest some more?"

"Ah, I promise to talk to her later," Bell said with another apologetic smile. "It's just… I don't want to wake my goddess and I don't think it's fair to Syr if we talk like this. Thank you for everything, Lyu. And I'm sorry about the Blade of Mercy. Please tell that to Eileen for me."

"…I'll see what I can do," Lyu gave a slow blink as she stepped out of the room.

Bell leaned against the bedframe as he continued to stroke the hair of his goddess. He believed in her. He was sure there must have been a reason for selling the Blade of Mercy. Sure, they were a poor _familia_ but money wasn't such a devastating problem. They always managed to get by even through the past few weeks. He had been injured and she had been away from her job.

He was sure there was more to the story than money. Lyu suggested to know the reason and said in Eileen's place everything was fine. Or tolerable.

Bell let his hand fall to his lap as he stared up at the ceiling.

He couldn't go back to sleep. He remembered the Hunter's Dream. He remembered walking through the streets of Yharnam, slaughtering the beasts that flooded the streets and the deranged citizens cursed by the blood. He remember hearing about the goodness of the Healing Church. He remembered learning about their corruption.

He remembered those beasts. He remembered hearing about how once they were innocent civilians of Yharnam that had been mutated.

He remembered so many Hunters befriending him. He remembered some betraying him. He remembered some dying before he could do anything. He remembered all the rest going crazy until he was the last one.

He couldn't sleep even if he wanted to. More memories began to resurface even as he sat here. A thick fog was gradually starting to disperse. He could recall vague sounds and images that were once nothing more than a swirl of colors. Soon they would become pictures. And after that would they become full memories.

He was afraid of what he was going to remember.

"Bell~" his goddess whined half-asleep. "Don't stop."

And, just like that, his fears were washed away.

"Sorry, goddess," he smiled and chuckled below his breath. He put his hand back on her head and began to stroke her hair.

His goddess let out a childish laugh in her sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

"Am I to assume you are taking a break from the Dungeon?" Eina asked.

"For the time being…" Bell nodded. He lifted his hand and flexed his fingers. "My hand still hurts a little. And my armor was damaged beyond repair. I also don't have a weapon at the moment. And the goddess and I have been looking for a new place lately."

"Is that right?" Eina tilted her head as she looked away from her records. "A new place? I can recommend a few places if you'd like. Am I to understand this is with the budget that woman donated to your _familia_?"

"No, actually…" Bell scratched his cheek as he sighed. "We've… managed to get a little lucky as of late. And I'm not wanting to touch the money Lady Maria gave me."

There was more to the story. A lot more. But Bell didn't want to tell Eina about the reasons Hestia had sold the Blade of Mercy.

Bell still wanted to believe in Eileen. In fact, he didn't want to believe it had been Eileen who had gone around murdering those adventurers. After all, there was the Crow of Cainhurst that had left her to bleed out on the steps of the Grand Cathedral. It could have been that monster here in Orario instead of her.

His belief in her remained absolute. Even if he saw the faded sketch of her beak-mask on the Black List of the Guild.

A sketch of Lady Maria was there as of the events a few days ago. It came to light by _Loki Familia_ she was the one responsible for letting the monsters loose in Monsterphilia.

"Speaking of which," Eina fixed her glasses as she leaned forward. "Bell, I'm speaking as both your advisor of the Guild and as a worried friend. You should sever all ties with that woman. Your _familia_ can be under a lot of scrutiny should anyone learn of your affiliation with her. Only a few members of the Guild know about this."

"…I understand," Bell said and meant it.

Eina nodded with relief as she went back to her papers, "Now, since you don't have any armor or weapons, what are your plans? Will you be requiring to lease equipment from the Guild or will you be making a purchase through a vendor?"

"I was thinking about buying from one of the equipment shops I always pass through…" Bell thought about it. "I always see a bunch of daggers I always wanted. But I still need to be conscious on my spending. The goddess says just because we have the val doesn't mean we can spend it freely. So… I'm not sure what I should spend it on, really."

Eina nodded once again. "Very well then. Would you mind if I accompany you then?"

"…Huh?"

"This is purely for the sake of performing my duties as your advisor," she clarified. "Money is a very important asset as an adventurer. Your goddess is wise to say such things. If I accompany you then I'm sure we'll be able to find something best fitting with your needs and your budget."

"Will you really?!" Bell practically leapt forward. He planted his hands against the table between them as he leaned in close.

"R-Really," she smiled and put her hands up in alarm. "It would put my mind at ease knowing you've selected adequate equipment. Personally, I'd rather you didn't go into the Dungeon at all but we've already talked about this…"

"Thank you Miss Eina!" Bell cheered as he sat back. "When's your next day off?"

She blinked at that, "Pardon?"

"Wouldn't it cause you problems if you missed work?" he asked. "You always seem busy and you complain about always having paperwork."

"I do no such thing!"

"U-Unless you don't want to do this on your day off," Bell's face blanched. "You might want to relax instead of worrying about me. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—"

"For goodness' sake," Eina sighed. "I can take tomorrow off. Things have slowed down now that the Monsterphilia event has been dealt with. Is that okay with you?"

"Yes!" Bell nodded vigorously.

"Then I shall see you tomorrow," Eina smiled as she stood. "I'll meet you at the Town Central tomorrow afternoon."

"Thank you, Miss Eina!" Bell waved at her as he stood and hurried out of the Guild headquarters.

Eina gathered the sheets in her arms and went back to her desk behind the counter. Bell wasn't the only client she had for the day but he was the last. There were a few other adventurers she had conversed with earlier in the day and now she needed to sort out all their paperwork. Fortunately she didn't have to deal with all the turmoil at the front desk.

Or the Exchange. Right now Nameless Guild Member-A (or Abe) was arguing with members of _Soma Familia_ over the value of magic stones they had delivered.

"Whhhhhyyyyyyyy~" cried Misha as soon as Eina took her seat. They worked beside each other. Misha sprawled herself across her desk after another Guild member left another stack of paperwork in her To-Do bin.

"It can't be helped," Eina said calmly as she began to organize her own stack of work. "It's going to be like this for a while. There are quests for repairs and intelligence gathering being organized by the Guild."

"But why not send all this to _Loki Familia_ then?" Misha sighed as she sat up. "I mean, they're the ones who requested these quests. Why do we have to be the ones who… Hey, Eina?"

"Hmm?" the half-elf looked up for a second, never stopping filling out the rest of her report.

"You seem to be in a good mood despite all this," the human girl narrowed her eyes. "What gives? I know you're fine with working even after hours but… this is new even for you."

"Unlike a certain someone, I happen to appreciate the work environment," Eina retorted as she went back to her work. She closed the folder of one client, placed it in the Finished bin, and reached for another. "And maybe if you work instead of complaining all the time you'd be able to leave on time."

"That's not what I'm talking about," Misha slid with the wheels under her chair to press a shoulder against Eina's. "You're different from what how you were this morning. Who was your last client?"

"I don't pry into your business affairs, Misha," Eina sighed, knowing the girl wasn't going to let up until satisfied… or until their manager scolded them both. "I had a late appointment with Bell Cranel."

"Oh~" Misha's eyes lit up as she smiled. "Eina's favorite Little Rabbit? What's he been up to? I haven't heard about him lately?"

"He was injured because of Monsterphilia," Eina answered while she evaluated the report another adventurer made for a quest. "He's been taking it easy as he recovers. There's not much else to say about that. He only came in today to go over his next plan once he recovers."

"Come on, what did he say?" Misha nudged her, almost making her slip up while Eina wrote. "Did he give you another compliment or something? Details!"

Eina put down her pen to look squarely at Misha, "Nothing of the sort. Bell is strictly my client, Misha. Nothing more. So please do not come to your own—"

"She's going on a date with the Little Rabbit," said Nameless Guild Member-C as she placed more work in their bins. We shall henceforth call her—

"Cynthia!" Eina stood from her desk. Her face was flushed at the scandal, "It is _not_ a date!"

"I heard everything from the next box over," Cynthia continued. "You're going to meet each other at the hotspot for dating sights while taking a day off. It's totally a date."

"It's in the shopping district right before Babel Tower!" Eina argued, her face reddening further as she tried to convince them otherwise. She pretended to not see Misha's overgrown smirk. "We're looking for adventurer's gear! That's all!"

"On your day off," Cynthia said plainly. "Together. Alone. Something like that might take a lot of time so you'll probably stop somewhere for lunch. Maybe even dinner if things drag on."

"It's totally a date," Misha cackled below her breath.

"It is no such thing," Eina groaned as she sat back down.

Cynthia shrugged after saying her piece and went back to being a background character.

"So, what're you wearing?" Misha pressed on.

"It is not a date," Eina insisted but knew she was going to lose no matter what she said.

"I'm sure he's the type of guy who'll be impressed no matter what you wear," Misha considered as she tapped a finger against her chin. "I remember when you were first assigned to him. He was really cute and shy sitting in front of his 'Miss Eina'. I can see why you have a thing for him."

Eina chose to not comment. This was coming from the girl who may or may not be having some sort of inappropriate affair with her brother.

"Hey, Eina, what're you doing after work?" Misha asked suddenly.

Eina actually considered it for a moment. "Nothing in particular. Why?"

"Good, I'll be coming over then."

"…Pardon?"

"Don't be like that! You have to look your best for tomorrow."

"For the last time, it's not a—"

Both immediately went back to work as their sixth sense kicked in. Just then, the manager came out of his officer, looked at them with an expectant glare, and walked out towards the back room.

0-0-0

"Welcome back, Bell!" Hestia sang from her spot on the couch.

With all the money they had gotten from Hephaestus, Hestia could have afforded much better attire. Instead, she had gone to a tailor to acquire the exact same dress she had lost in Monsterphilia. Plus six other replicas. There was one for every day of the week.

They washed and wore the same outfits on a daily basis out of necessity. Why she chose to have spare clothes of the same type was a mystery to Bell.

"I'm home," Bell called out as he stepped inside. He noticed the smell of a good meal wrapped up in a bundle on the small table. It still smelled warm and fresh. "Did you just get here, goddess?"

"Yup!" Her smile broadened as she started to untie the sack of food. "Look! I got all sorts of treats today! Isn't it wonderful?"

She had purchased some fried potatoes from her job along with baked bread and sliced meats. The smell alone made his mouth water.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Hestia rose from her seat and went to the dresser in the corner of the room. "This was placed at the entrance when I got here. There's a note that says it was for you."

She handed him a wrapped bundle of cloth. His brows rose as soon as the weight fell into his hands. It almost felt familiar but he couldn't tell what was inside until he opened the package.

He found a note on the side. It said it was to him on one side. But on the other side, written in Common in bold lettering was…

 **DON'T DO IT AGAIN**

He had no idea what it meant until he unwrapped the package, pulled back the cloth, and exposed the contents into the open air.

Hestia dropped the plate of food she was about to hand to him as soon as she saw it.

It was the Blade of Mercy.

"B-Bell…" she muttered in a shaky voice. "Why… Why is that here?"

She had told him why she had sold the weapon. He understood, though it had saddened him for the past few days. So to see it in his arms once again terrified her. She was worried for him.

The note couldn't have been from Hephaestus. Then… did that mean the Crow had stolen from Hephaestus' vault? The Crow had made contact with Bell? The Crow _wanted_ the Blade of Mercy to be in the hands of Bell?!

Bell looked at the note again, "Goddess… I don't think it was right for us to get rid of them."

She stepped forward to plead with him, "Bell, you shouldn't have those. They're very dangerous. They belonged to a very dangerous person. If another _familia_ who lost their child sees you with those weapons… I don't know if I can protect you."

He understood. The hurt shone in his eyes. But he clasped the weapons tighter.

"Goddess… I can't get rid of them," he said in a low voice. "Please understand. I think this is what Eileen was trying to tell me. This is my inheritance from her."

"…Eileen?" she questioned. And then she flipped, "Wait, Bell, you know the identity of the Crow?!"

"I don't know if this Crow and Eileen are the same person," he shook his head. "And… even if they are, I don't believe Eileen is an evil person. She was a Hunter of Hunters. She Hunted those who went crazy from bloodthirst. If she attacked anyone then it was because she had to. She… saved me so many times."

"…Bell, what are you talking about?" Hestia became worried. "When was this? Have you been talking to this person while down in the Dungeon?"

Bell shook his head, "Goddess, I don't think you'll believe me. I'm still not too sure about it myself. But please trust me. I can't get rid of them. Besides, Eileen is telling me not to do it again."

He gestured to the note in his hands.

Hestia frowned with worry. "Bell… I don't know. You're growing up fast, sure. But you're still a newbie adventurer. There are a lot of strong _familias_ who's been done wrong by those weapons. If they see them and recognize them, they'll come after you."

Bell knew. They had this conversation before and it was why he had put his faith in his goddess. He didn't care about himself. He could take care of himself. He wasn't afraid of any other team coming after him because of the Crow's past.

But he was worried about his goddess. If they came after him then surely they would go after her just the same.

But… the Blade of Mercy had been delivered to him by Eileen. He still remembered finding her bleeding on the steps of the Grand Cathedral. He remembered fighting the Crow of Cainhurst in her stead. He remembered returning to her victorious, her scolding him for being foolish, but thanking him in the end.

He remembered her pushing the Blade of Mercy into his hands as she took her last breath. She had given her task to him. To never give into the blood and to Hunt those who did.

They were the weapons he used to conquer the Dream.

And they had followed him into Orario.

"I'm sorry, goddess," he said without being able to look at her. "I just can't. I know I'm being selfish. And I know I'm going to cause you a lot of trouble. But… these mean a lot to me. And they helped me out through so much. I can't let go of them."

"But Bell…" Hestia tried, "just the other week you had no clue what they were. You said they were just on your lap. Did… Did you lie to me?"

Hurt resonated through her voice. She never thought Bell of all people would have lied to her.

"No!" he jumped immediately. "No! Goddess, never! I told you the truth! It's just… it's confusing. It… It was all a bad dream…"

Hestia couldn't understand.

"In any case," she put her hands on her hips and tried something else. "That weapon is under the ownership of the _Hephaestus Familia._ Bell, Hephaestus is the current owner since she bought them from us. You can't keep them even if you wanted to."

She was right. They could try to return the val and make up for what they had already spent on a loan. But Hephaestus coveted the Blade of Mercy as well. She was determined to find out how it was made and replicate its forging process. She wasn't willing to let go of such a treasure.

Hence why she had spent such a fortune on it. She believed she would be able to return the profit once she discovered how it was made.

Bell held onto the Blade of Mercy a little tighter. But he knew his goddess was right. However the weapon got here, it belonged to Hephaestus. No matter how much he wanted to keep it, he had to return it to Hephaestus.

"…Eileen is going to be mad," he said as he started to put the Blade back into the cloth.

That made Hestia's body shiver in a cold sweat. "Eh… why don't we hold on to them for a bit then? Keep them here, you know, away from people's eyes. I'll talk to Hephaestus about them tomorrow. I have to talk to her anyways about the faulty knife she sold me."

It was a compromise Bell was willing to take. Maybe he could stop by the Benevolent Mistress and talk to Lyu about it. Maybe he'd be able to get a message to Eileen through her.

"By the way, goddess," he said as he put the Blade to the side and helped her clean up the floor of spilt food. "I'm going to be busy tomorrow too. Miss Eina and I are going to be looking for new gear for me. G-Goddess?"

Hestia was glaring at him with a flat stare. "Your advisor from the Guild? Bell, haven't you been getting a little too chummy with her?"

"Miss Eina is just a really good advisor…" he said more as an excuse than anything. He gave a weak smiled as he supplied, "She's helped me out a lot and got me through the Dungeon in my first week. She's offered to help me look for armor so we don't spend too much val. Is something wrong, goddess?"

"No, nothing is wrong!" Hestia spat out as she swept all the food and glass together. "Nothing at all, Bell. I'm not angry at all you're going to be going on a date with little-miss-half-elf instead of your patron goddess! I hope you have a good time!"

She stomped over to the washroom to toss the things gathered in her hands into the trash.

"Goddess…" Bell rose and patted his knees of dirt. The room needed to be swept. "I was actually thinking… Now that we have some val to spend, what do you think about having dinner one night? You know, before I go back to the Dungeon? When's your next day off?"

Hestia burst out of the room and nearly rushed into him if he hadn't taken a quick step back. Still, her face was right in front of his. "Really?! Dinner?! With me?! Bell, I'm free tomorrow! I'll take care of Hephaestus first thing in the morning, run some errands, and meet you at sunset!"

"B-But, I have shopping with Miss Eina," Bell stammered.

"It's in the afternoon, right?" Hestia said as though she knew all the details of the engagement prior. "You should be able to finish before sunset. It's not like the two of you are _really_ going on a date, right? Right Bell? RIGHT?!"

"…Right," he nodded and responded out of fear.

"It's a date then!" his goddess cheered as she jumped up and down.

It did magnificent things to her boobs. Bell couldn't look away.

0-0-0

Bell was standing in the Town Center, right in front of the fountain, when he felt the presence. Someone was watching him. It felt like the eyes of a monster. He knew it as some grand beast on the hunt during the Hunter's Dream.

As the crowds moved with their lives, he tried searching for this presence. He couldn't find anyone looking his way. Everyone around him was busy with their own problems.

"Bell!" he heard the voice of Eina. He forced himself to look away. "There you are. Sorry I'm late."

He was going to retort with something rather cliché, but the words were caught in his throat. His mouth went dry as his lips failed to say anything else.

He didn't know why but he had expected Eina to show up in her Guild uniform. Instead, she was dressed in a white, frilly blouse with a red tie around her collar, a layered red skirt, stocking, and… she wasn't wearing her glasses. Her emerald eyes were as clear as day.

"You would not believe the day I've been having so far," she said as she approached him. "Bell? Is something wrong?"

He felt his cheeks flare as he forced himself to look away. "N-No. Not at all. I just got here myself."

Eina leaned forward to look at his face. It made him shirk away further into himself. She couldn't help but smile and play along. "Bell, what do you think about what I'm wearing?"

"Eh?" he blinked and looked up at her. His face reddened further. "I… uh… think you look a little younger?"

She couldn't help but laugh at his poor choice of words. She reached forward to pinch his cheek without putting any effort into it. "Bell, I'm only nineteen. I'm not _that_ older than you."

"Ahm sowwy!" he said.

She had to let go. If she pulled any harder she would have made him cry.

"Well, are you ready to go?" she asked.

Bell looked over his shoulder once more, still searching for that presence. It was still there, still watching him, and he wasn't sure whether he should accompany Eina today with it around. The memories of the Hunter's Dream played through his mind and his body was ready to react whenever.

He wondered if he should cancel to search for this presence. Whoever it was… they were out for blood.

No, it would be best not to leave Eina alone. Now that this presence had seen her they might come after her once she was alone.

"Y-Yeah, sure," he said after a moment. "Where are we going?"

"Come on then," she said with a cheery smile as she took his hand. It made steam fume out of his ears as she tugged him along. "We're going to Babel Tower to the Hephaestus main shop."

"H-Hephaestus?!" Bell nearly stumbled. "But I thought we were going to look for something cheap!"

"Don't worry about it," Eina told him. "Let's just enjoy ourselves for the time being and worry about the rest later."

Bell apologized to his wallet as he followed Eina.

0-0-0

It could be said that the presence Bell felt _was_ out for him.

Aiz Wallenstein leapt from corner to corner, from bush to bush, from lamppost to lamppost as she followed behind the Little Rabbit. Her eyes narrowed as she observed his movements. She took note his detection skills were top notch as he had sensed her observing him.

She was curious about him. She had seen him slay a Minotaur on his own despite being such a new adventurer, but she was baffled when he had been able to fight against the bloodied _kenki_ to a stalemate. If his weapon hadn't exploded on him what would have been the end result?

He was fast enough to match that woman. Maria, she believed he called her. They also seemed to know each other, suggesting they had a history.

Aiz had checked the records. The boy had only been an adventurer for a month and he was still only at Level One. So… did he lie to the Guild about his stats? And if so, how could he be so powerful when he was so young?

She needed to learn _everything_ about him.

Little did she know, she wasn't the only one playing stalker today.

"This is what you people dragged me to?" Riveria asked with a heavy and annoyed tone.

"Don't you find it strange?" Tione asked with a pair of binoculars in hand.

"Yeah, Aiz changed her habits for the past few days and this is why!" her sister, Tiona, waved a hand while keeping hold of her own pair of binoculars. "She doesn't do anything except eat, sleep, and train!"

"Miss Wallenstein…" Lefiya sobbed as she clutched against the lamppost she hid behind. "It's just a rabbit. What could you see in him?"

"Rabbit?" Riveria questioned. She took Tione's binoculars—while ignoring her cry of protest—and looked at the figure Aiz had been stalking. "That's… Eina and… Oh no. Him?"

"What's 'oh no' for?" Tiona asked.

Riveria handed back the ocular device as she sighed, "I say that because Lady Loki has a vendetta against him. I don't know why. There's a sketch of him on her dart board… with plenty of daggers impaled into it. Actually… look. There she is now."

The high elf pointed to one alleyway. A shrouded figure was lurking in the dark out of sight of the rabbit adventurer. The members of _Loki Familia_ recognized it as their patron goddess. Aiz should have been able to spot her as well, but all of her attention was focused on her prime target. She was ignorant of all the stares she was receiving for her not-so-discreet mission. Yet, at the same time, Loki didn't notice her either for the same reasons.

"This is going to get out of hand…" Riveria said below her breath.

The two Amazoness girls nodded in agreement.

Lefiya was rather indifferent to the whole thing. If Lady Loki took out the rabbit then there wouldn't be anything to distract Aiz from their normal shenanigans. Lefiya might have a chance with him out of the picture!

And little did this group from _Loki Familia_ know… they also weren't the only ones playing stalker.

"Huhuhu…" Misha cackled below her breath. "Look at them together. They look so cute!"

"I told you that skirt and tie combo would blow him away!" said Random Guild Member-Q.

"Personally I think she should have exposed more bust," commented Random Guild Member-G. "But, hey, Cranel seems to like what she's rocking."

"Misha, do you really think we should be spying on them like this?" asked Random Guild Member-Y.

"Of course!" Misha said with a fire burning in her eyes and a shaking fist. "And we should be doing everything in our power to make sure this date goes off without a hitch! Everyone remember the plan? Now off with you before they get past Phase 1!"

The other girls nodded vigorously and took off to their checkpoint.

And… little did this group know…

"…Was that Bell just now?" asked Syr.

Lyu looked through the crowds. Her sharp eyes caught sight of a flicker of white among the masses. "Yes, I believe so. We just missed him."

Syr pouted, "And I think there was another girl with him."

Lyu chose to say nothing. Yes, she had spotted a woman pulling Bell along the arm. But she didn't want to discourage Syr's feelings for the boy.

"We should hurry before the dinner rush," Lyu said. They had been sent out by Mama Mia to retrieve food for the chefs to prepare. They were running low on a few things.

Syr frowned until an idea came to her. "Hold on, Lyu. Do you think he hasn't been around the tavern because he's been with this other woman?"

"I do not believe so," Lyu said quickly.

"You do think so?!"

"That's not what I said."

"But, Lyu, think about it! She did look pretty. And older. Do you think he hasn't been around because he's into older women? I mean… you were alone with him for some time when we were taking care of him—"

"There is nothing between Mr. Cranel and I," Lyu said in a flat tone.

"You saying that makes me doubt you, Lyu," Syr grumbled.

Lyu looked around for a moment. Her eyes caught sight of everyone else looking down the path where Bell ran off to. "We can learn about this ourselves. There is still time before the dinner rush. We will have to explain things to Mama Mia, however."

"Oh Lyu," Syr dropped the crocodile tears and embraced her friend. "I knew you would see it my way. Let's hurry before we lose him! Maybe we'll get to learn what kind of woman he's into after all!"

With that, Syr took Lyu's hand and they took off towards Babel Tower.

Now, while the female elite members of _Loki Familia,_ members of the Guild, and two girls from the Benevolent Mistress know, they weren't the only ones who had their sights on Bell Cranel.

"Is there anything else I can get for you, Ma'am?" asked a Nameless Waitress.

"Just the bill," answered Lady Maria as she indulged in the last of her tea. She sat with her legs crossed at an outdoor table belonging to a café. She had been people watching the entire time, observing those who came and went and remembering their schedules and habits. She was in clear view of Bell, who stood waiting by the fountain, who had sensed someone watching him, but had missed her entirely.

It probably had to do with how she was only observing him rather than preying. She was nothing more than a customer to this café at the moment.

She had also been able to see everyone else who had been drawn in by the boy.

Well, it _was_ her mission to acquire information on the city as well as to locate any Hunter that had gone through the Dream.

It wouldn't hurt to join in on their fun.

0-0-0

"Thirty million val?!" Bell gasped as he pressed his hands and face against the display case. He had caught sight of a straight sword with a magic gem and a gold hilt. "T-That! How can anyone spend that much on something like this?!"

He was almost about to say the cost was almost as much as his _familia_ had overall. But his goddess had told him to keep mum about how much money they had. They were still supposed to be a poor _familia._ Flaunting their sudden wealth would only provoke trouble.

"This is the front of the Hephaestus group," Eina explained. "This is where all the high-end gear is made and sold. Only the top ten _familias_ really shop here with the exception of the occasional eccentric adventurer. I wanted to show you this just to start off."

That dagger in the display case was twenty million val. Its durability was outrageous and it did a multiplier damage boost on several different breed of monster. Something like that could have been a decent replacement for the Blade of Mercy.

Though… he hadn't found anything the Blade couldn't cut. Nor had it ever lost its edge, now that he thought about it. It was super light too and was both a pair of daggers and a short sword.

Could this little dagger worth a house and living expenses for a year split in two?

No. It couldn't.

The door to the shop opened. A grumbling, fuming, stomping Hestia came out before slamming the door behind her.

"Goddess?" Bell turned to look at her.

Her eyes snapped irritatingly at whoever called her. Bell flinched. She blinked and realized who it was and perked up immediately. "Bell! So you came here? I wouldn't recommend it. Everything is very pricy and... questionable."

"Questionable?" asked both Bell and Eina. Bell continued, "Goddess, were you meeting with Lady Hephaestus right now? What happened?"

"I tried to get her to make a replacement blade for you," Hestia soured again. "But she swears nothing she makes is faulty or it would ruin her reputation. So when I tried to argue with her she told me to show her proof. And I told her there was no proof! The knife _exploded_ into a million pieces!"

"Uh huh…" Bell nodded slowly as he listened carefully.

"She thinks I'm making it up to swindle her into giving me more money!" Hestia flushed at the audacious idea. "Can you believe her?! After everything we've been through she thinks I'm some greedy, shallow goddess!"

…Bell chose very wisely not to comment on that.

Instead, "W-Well, what else did she say? About… um… that thing?"

"Oh right, those…" Hestia huffed. She was about to answer until she finally noticed Eina's presence. "Oh. Hello. I don't think we've met."

"Right!" Bell realized as well and flushed with embarrassment. "G-Goddess! This is…"

"Hello, Goddess Hestia," Eina gave a small bow of respect. "I'm Eina Tulle. I am Bell's personal advisor from the Guild. It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person."

"Oh right…" Hestia nodded a few times as she examined Eina. Her eyes flashed in recognition of a threat. "Miss Advisor… can I have a word with you real quick?"

Hestia waved Eina over. The half-elf leaned over with Hestia blocking her mouth so only Eina could hear. "You're not abusing your job in order to seduce my Bell, are you?"

Eina's face reddened as she stood up straight. "N-No! Nothing of the sort! Bell and I are professionally client and advisor! Nothing more!"

Hestia eyed the girl for a long moment, never looking away and never blinking. Eina began to feel uncomfortable as she shifted her balance between each leg.

"Okay then!" Hestia gave her a beaming smile. "Sure, sure. No problem! Go on and have fun you two. Bell, remember our plans later. I'll see you then~"

"Uh… Y-Yes, goddess…" Bell answered slowly with a nervous smile of his own.

Hestia waved off at the two of them before heading down the hall. She did not head towards the elevator that would lead her out of the shopping floors of Babel Tower. Instead, she flung herself around the corner of the nearest hallway. She crouched, peeked around the corner, and spied on the two from afar.

They were sharing a quiet conversation so to not disturb the other window shoppers. Bell was laughing while Eina had a soft smile. She said something and it made Bell smile more.

This _hussy_ was going to steal away her man!

She spun back around, pressed her back against the wall, and bit her thumb. "Bell, you dummy. You already have an adorable goddess so why are you chasing after this tail?"

"See, Lyu, Bell really is interested in older women!"

"Syr, you shouldn't listen to the ramblings of this goddess."

Hestia blinked and whipped her head to the left.

A pair of maids were crouched beside her. The one with ash-colored hair gave a timid smile while the blonde elf had a completely placid expression.

Hestia couldn't help but narrow her eyes. "Who are you and why are you stalking my Bell?"

"We are merely observing," answered Lyu. "We work at the Benevolent Mistress where Mr. Cranel frequents. We have been curious as to why he hasn't shown up lately."

"We think he's gotten himself a girlfriend!" Syr blurted out. "That's the only reason I can think of! You know Bell, don't you? Is this true?!"

"WHAT?!" Hestia flipped. "Bell?! Girlfriend?!"

The three of them peeked around the corner together. They spotted Bell talking to Eina some more before she took his hand to lead him away. Bell flushed while following behind.

He stopped suddenly and spun his head around.

The three of them hid before he spotted them.

"I-It can't be!" Hestia was heaving. "B-Bell?! G-G-Girlfriend?! No! I won't allow it! Not when he has this adorable goddess that he lives with!"

"You must be Goddess Hestia!" Syr smiled and extended her hand. "I'm Syr Flova. Bell talks about you all the time."

"Does he now…?" Hestia shook the maid's hand while narrowing her eyes. This girl was also kinda cute. And close to Bell's age. "What has he said about me?"

"They're getting out of sight," Lyu spoke up suddenly. She didn't need to peek around the corner. She had been able to watch them through the reflection of the glass of the display case in front of her.

Hestia whipped her head around and saw that, indeed, Bell and Eina were out of sight.

With her distracted, Syr gave Lyu a thumbs-up for the distraction. Bell loved his goddess immensely, but she had heard just as many complaints as there were compliments. She didn't want to tell this goddess all the things he shared with her.

Lyu only nodded in understanding. With a silent signal, they moved in pursuit.

0-0-0

" _M-1,_ " one of the members of the Guild spoke to Misha through a magic stone earpiece. _"Targets approaching at checkpoint seven. Prepare to engage._ "

"Roger that," Misha muttered as she got into position. "Keep groups three, five, and seven on standby. Two, get ready for Phase 4. Group one, with me."

There was a chorus of affirmations before she pulled the stone out of her ear and leapt out of her hiding spot.

In record breaking time, with the support of Nameless Guild Members B, C, Q, and Y, Misha was able to make a crepe stand smack-dab in the middle of the floors of the shopping center. People stared at her in both amazement, shock, and... as if she were mentally ill. This was the floor for blacksmithing and equipment requests. This wasn't the place for a crepe shop.

"You there!" she called out in her manliest voice, which was hardly an octave lower than her feminine voice. "Congratulations you two! It's Couples Day! You get to receive a free crepe to share with your beloved! What flavor will you like?"

Bell and Eina stopped in their tracks as soon as Misha called out to them. Bell was looking around until he pointed at himself for confirmation. Eina blanched as she recognized who it was behind the counter.

In fairness, it was a hastily prepared disguise. All the girls working the suddenly appearing shop had curly mustaches above their lips. It did nothing to hide the curves on their bodies.

"C-Couple?" Bell sputtered. His eyes looked sideways at Eina before shooting straight back to the ground. "Y-Y-You misunderstand! We're not a couple!"

"You're holding hands," Misha pointed out as she went to preparing their crepe on the plug-in stove. "So, what'll it be? We have all sorts of berries to choose from."

Bell realized that he _was_ holding Eina's hand. It was because the half-elf had grabbed onto his so to not lose him from the crowds. These floors were the busiest and it was easy to get separated. Rather than being a couple, it was more like Eina was leading him on like an older sister making sure not to lose her younger brother.

"T-This isn't what it looks like!" Bell blurted out with a heated face.

"Misha… what are you trying to pull?" Eina asked in a flat tone.

"Hmm?" Misha looked up at her friend. "Sorry young lady. Name's… Clyde. Oh! I like that name! Yup, it's Clyde! I don't know who this Misha person is. But she sounds like a fantastic gal. You should thank her for being your friend."

She twisted her mustache while laughing to herself. It almost came off and she had to press her fingers to reaffirm the glue.

"Hey, hurry the hell up!" one adventurer said behind Bell. "My gal wants a crepe so hurry up and pick!"

"Just pick something and move on!" said another adventurer behind that one.

"Seriously they're still choosing?!" said another behind the second.

"At this rate Couple's Day is going to be over!" said a fourth.

Misha gawked. There was a line. The patrons who had been negotiating with others had heard her announcement. To her complete amazement, each one of them had a second in line with them. Most of them were a pairing of man and woman. She saw at least three groups that had the same gender.

But… the line continued to grow to the point where it was curving around the hallway. People walking by were asking questions, received answers, and latched a hand onto their significant other to get in line.

"One strawberry crepe, please," Eina smiled wickedly as she saw the line behind her. "Thank you very much."

Misha prepared their crepe and handed it over to Eina with shaking hands. "P-Please enjoy."

"Absolutely," Eina never dropped her smile as she took Bell's hand again. "Come on, Bell. We still have much more to look through."

For a moment, everyone could have sworn they heard the bloodthirsty cry of vengeance from the shadows of the floor. But it was muffled out. People questioned if they had heard it but soon dismissed it while they got back in line.

"E-Eh, but…" Bell said as his eyes flickered around, searching for the bloodlust that had surged throughout the corridor. But he was dragged away before he could grasp it.

"One blueberry, please," said the adventurer with an elf girlfriend.

"Y-Yes sir…" Misha said in her normal voice. "Just one moment…"

She spun around and pulled in her fellow Guild members into a close huddle. "This wasn't supposed to happen! Do we have enough to satisfy these people?!"

"We only planned on feeding Eina and Mr. Cranel!" said Member-Q. "We have some spare ingredients just in case we wanted some. But not for all of these people! We may need to call for backup!"

"M-1, call in for reinforcements and supply," said Member-B. "Don't worry about us. We'll handle it from here!"

They pulled out a second stove from seemingly nowhere and another spatula. Q and B went to work filling out orders.

"This is M-1!" Misha knelt in the corner of the stand as she pulled the magic stone to her ear. "Requesting backup! Requesting supply drop! Phase 3 is a total bust! The rest of the shoppers are wanting some and we're going to get a lot of angry people if we don't satisfy them!"

0-0-0

Maria was on the same floor as Bell but in a different shop. She was browsing through the contents of this bargain shop. There were several sets of heavy armor, a variety of different swords, spears, and blunt weapons on display behind the clerk, and a plethora of shields lining the walls in decoration. Everything was for sale, supposedly.

Everything was garbage. The quality was poor and there was hardly anything present she would find useful. There was something on occasional she _could_ use against another person. But they were nothing compared to the Trick Weapons designed by the Hunters. They grew more powerful the more blood the Hunter devoured. Their hunger became more ravenous depending on how many Blood Echoes the Hunter reaped from their fallen enemies.

The weapons in this shop would decay over time. They were disposable.

Her Rakuyo was both a blessing and a curse. She despised it for everything it represented as well as the blood arts she had inherited through her heritage. Yet she loved it as it was the closest thing to a friend she could ever possess.

The door to the shop opened while she was behind one of the shelves. She was able to look through the gaps of items to find Bell and his friend had stumbled inside. His face was reddened and body shaking with childish embarrassment. The girl on the other hand was delighted.

Maria continued her evaluation while keeping mind of her position. Should Bell come around the corner then she would relocate before he spotted her.

The door opened again, this time quietly without ringing the bell over its hanger. Gold flicked through the crack of the door and slid in masterfully. The figure moved to Maria's far flank before the door shut on its own.

Bell and his friend looked at the suddenly shutting door with puzzlement. They dismissed it immediately after seeing nothing wrong. And the clerk hadn't bothered to look up from his newspaper.

Aiz Wallenstein crouched down a few meters away from Maria. Her eyes narrowed as she spied on Bell and his friend. Her eyes followed his every movement.

Maria paid her no mind while she continued her browsing.

She paused, almost missing it entirely. One such box in the bottom shelf behind another article held her interest. She knelt down, rearranged things so she could grab it, and pulled it out.

She recognized it immediately for what it was.

How… fascinating.

"Bell, you shouldn't be so nervous," said the friend.

"Eh… it's not that."

"Oh? Is it because you're embarrassed? Sharing a crepe with me startled you?"

"I-It's not that! It's just… eh, Miss Eina, do you get the feeling we're being watched?"

Maria turned her head towards Aiz, who had yet to notice her presence. Aiz narrowed her eyes slightly at his words but said nothing else. Her muscles coiled, ready to spring and flee as soon as Bell caught aware of her presence.

"People have been staring at us all day, Bell," the friend stated. "Misha wasn't the first one to call us a couple. Your goddess thought we were dating too, didn't she?"

"D-Did she…?" he asked while pausing. "Hmm. I guess you're right. Maybe it's just me then."

"I think you're too conscientious of this. Remember, we're just looking for new gear. Why don't you spread out and look for something?"

"Yeah, okay. I'm going to look back here then."

Maria hefted the box under her arms and went around the corner of the shelf. At the same time, Bell approached from the other side, completely missing her.

She kept track on Aiz, who had hid herself inside a suit of armor shoved in the corner of the room. Her golden eyes could be seen peering through the slit of the helm. Bell froze, turned to gaze at it, lingered for a moment, and then went back to his browsing.

His instincts were getting better. But they weren't on par to what they should be. This wasn't the Bell that had defeated her in the Nightmare.

"Y-You!"

Maria gazed at the boy's friend without losing stride. This was someone Maria had recognized from the Guild. She was a pretty young thing. Too sheltered, if anything. She was no threat at all.

She was staring at Maria with widened eyes. She was shaking. Her mind was racing between calling for help and fulfilling her duties as a Guild member.

The Huntress placed the box down on the counter. She turned towards the elfish girl with one hand on the hilt of her Rakuyo. She put one finger to her lips and gave the universal sign of silence.

The girl's eyes flicked to the weapon before flashing back up towards Maria.

The message had been received.

With that, Maria stepped towards the exit.

Her eyes went to the left. They met with the golden orbs of Aiz Wallenstein, hiding like a child within the suit of armor. A private exchange was made with a glance alone.

"Hey lady, aren't you going to buy—"

The door closed before the clerk could finish his shout.

0-0-0

"I didn't really find anything on my end…" Bell said as he came out from the back of the room. "Was there anything on the other side? Miss Eina? What's wrong?"

"B-Bell!" Eina jumped as soon as she heard his voice. "Um… It's nothing. Don't worry about it. And, no, I didn't really get much of a look."

"Was that a friend of yours or something?" asked the clerk. "'Cause she just dumps this on the front and leaves. Are you buying it or what?"

"Friend?" Bell asked as he approached the box right in the middle of the counter.

His eyes widened instantly.

He pulled out the contents, spread it out to get a good look at it, and then threw it over his shoulders to try it on. It was large, fitting of a grown man rather than a growing boy, but it could be tailored. Maybe if he tucked in the shoulders, trimmed the sleeves, and maybe the hem since it was so long.

It was a leather duster with a cape, several pockets at the front and on the inside, and a high collar that reached to his ears. There were buckles and zippers to customize how it could be closed. It was light yet he knew it was durable enough to withstand several heavy hits.

It was a Hunter's cloak. There was no doubt about it.

It even came with a tri-horned hat.

…That he probably wouldn't buy. It would hinder his vision. The collar was bad enough.

"I'll take it!" he said without bothering to check the price. His eyes flashed towards the mark on the side of the box.

It was only 9900 val. Extensively cheap for something like this.

"Hah? Seriously?" the clerk said despite his prior words. "You really wanna buy that crap?"

Bell leaned against the counter with an excited smile, "Yes! And could you tell me how I can get in contact with the one who made this?"

"Seriously?!" the clerk dropped his newspaper to gawk at him. "That guy?! Look, I don't know him personally. He just drops his shit off here and I sell it. He comes and goes whenever he makes something new that nobody wants to buy. You're the first to want his crap."

"Bell…" Eina eyed him. "I know you like light armor but… don't you think this is a little _too_ light? There are some armor sets for your build over here."

"Nope," he stood straight and twisted around to get a look at himself. It felt like he was a little boy again trying on his grandfather's clothes. "This is perfect. I couldn't ask for anything better. Trust me, Miss Eina. I would prefer a Hunter's coat over the Cainhurst set."

Now there was a sad memory. The Queen of Cainhurst. Maybe that was the sin Lady Maria had been talking about? He slew Logarius and freed the Queen of the Vilebloods.

But… the Queen never did anything wrong. And she was kinda lonely. All they ever did together was talk.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about but…" Eina tried to convince him otherwise. However, with the look of childish wonder on his face, she didn't have the strength to argue with him. "At least buy something to go over that. Like some armor attachments."

"Hmm…" Bell brought his hand to his chin in thought. It was hidden by the sleeve so he brought the hem of the sleeve to his chin instead. "I could use some shin guards. The jacket always protects my upper body but it always hurts when my legs get hit. Steel-tip boots too? No, regular boots are fine. I don't want to be too heavy."

Eina let out a very audible sigh. She felt herself aging as she stressed over the safety of this boy. He wasn't going to listen to reason and it was going to get himself killed.

He paid for the jacket and chose to wear it out. He rolled up the sleeves to free his hands. He walked a little taller now that he felt… comfortable. The Hunter cloak was something he lived in throughout the Dream. He found it in Yharnam in the earliest hours and wore it to the very end. He tried on several other sets other Hunters had recommended to him, but the cloak he first found was his favorite.

"Where to next?" he asked Eina.

0-0-0

"I don't know why…" Bell said as he shivered. He pulled the cloak closer around him while looking around. "But that feeling is getting stronger."

"The thing about people watching you?" Eina questioned as she sipped her lemonade. "Bell, you're wearing that jacket at a café. Of course people are looking at you."

"No, it's not that," he said while looking out the window. He knew there was something out there watching him. The feeling of dread had gotten worse ever since they stopped for lunch. "I don't know how to explain it. I guess… when you're in the Dungeon and you know something bad is about to happen."

Or when the world got impossibly quiet as soon as he stepped through a doorway, only to find something equal to a Monster Rex appeared to try and kill him.

Such as the Cleric Beast, the Blood-Starved Beast, or… the Amygdala.

He visibly shuddered after remembering the thing Patches dared to call a god. It was nothing more than a chaotic mass of conceptual flesh where staring at it would render anyone insane. Even Bell. Its very existence was just so… wrong.

"Don't worry, Bell," Eina assured him with a soft smile. "Nothing like Monsterphilia will happen again. Security has been tightened around the city and everyone is on alert. You don't need to worry about that."

He accepted her words but didn't lower his guard. He was still waiting on some sort of eldritch abomination to come crashing down from the cosmos.

"By the way," Eina cleared her throat. She reached down for her pouch and pulled out a wrapped package from within. She held it for a moment before handing it to him. "I purchased something while you were browsing around. Consider this a gift from me."

"Miss Eina…" Bell felt uncomfortable as he held the package. "I can't take this. I can at least give you the money for—"

"Consider it an investment," she countered while fixing her glasses. "Rather, think of it as insurance. Bell, I've known a lot of adventurers that didn't return from the Dungeon. Please accept this. It's more for me rather than for you."

He couldn't argue with her after that. He undid the seal and tore apart the paper. Within was a shield brace. It was a piece of equipment that went over his forearm. It was light enough to not hinder his movements but he would still need to get used to it once he went back into the Dungeon. But it wouldn't get in his way. The shield was small enough to not go against his style of fighting and probably strong enough to withstand a few sharp blows.

"Thank you, Miss Eina," he said and meant it. He knew she was worried about him. She was always worried about him. She had beaten sense into him the first time he enlisted as an adventurer.

He also knew she had been right. If only she knew he had died against the Minotaur on the fifth floor. All of her advice had been correct all along. Maybe if he had listened a little better and remembered what she said he wouldn't have wound up in the Hunter's Dream.

"O-Of course…" she stuttered and quickly looked away.

Bell's head snapped up and looked out the window. The feeling of bloodlust had spiked immensely all of a sudden. He almost pinpointed its location before it quickly lulled down to its regular level. Now he knew for sure whatever was watching him was close by. Across the street, maybe.

"Hey, it happened again," someone said in the table next to them.

"What?" asked his companion.

"The murders," she said. "There was another one found this morning."

"Another animal person?"

"Yeah. You think this is connected with Monsterphilia?"

"Doubt it. The murders have been happening for a couple weeks now. And they only target animal people. Monsterphilia was aimless."

"Bell?"

"Huh?" he snapped out of his listening when he looked at Eina.

"I was asking you about your plans for the Dungeon," she said with a knowing glare. She was silently scolding him for eavesdropping on someone else's conversation. "I know about your long-term goal. But how about you start with something small and go from there?"

He thought about it for a moment, "I'm not sure. I guess going down to the lower floors."

"Alone?" she questioned in a sharp tone.

"I-It's not like I can join with anyone else," he raised his hands in defense. "I tried. Nobody wants a newbie in their party."

"How about hiring a Supporter then?" she asked next. "It would lessen your load of carry equipment and hasten your magic stone extraction. You would be able to worry about the monsters of the Dungeon while your Supporter worries about gathering the stones."

"That would help me so much," he breathed out. "I probably spend more time cutting open monsters for their stones than fighting them. I'd like to learn more about it first. So I'll think about it."

"An excellent idea," she smiled proudly. "If you'd like, I can search for a Supporter and give you a list of candidates."

"Miss Eina, did I ever tell you how much I love you?" he said with a few tears about to gather. She was a godsend. He wouldn't know what he'd do without her.

Eina was trying her best to avoid eye contact with him. Her face was burning and she used her drink to cool herself down. Saying something like that with that smile and that face… it tugged on her heartstrings. Something like that was a weapon, not a compliment. It was intoxicating.

0-0-0

"Okay…" Riveria sat on the bench as she gathered herself. "I think we're done here."

"Aww…" whined Tiona. "But I wanna see what's so special about Bunny Boy."

"I like White Rabbit better," Tione said.

"What happened to Little Rabbit?"

"That works too. But I have to agree with Riveria. Aiz isn't doing anything and we're just wasting time."

"We can't just leave Miss Wallenstein alone!" Lefiya argued. "What if something happens while we're gone? What if that boy tries something?!"

"I think Aiz is capable enough of handling herself," Riveria stated in a tired voice. "And I'm more worried about her doing something to the boy with the way she's acting. But that's between her and him. Besides, we have this to deal with."

On the floor in front of them was their goddess. She was gagged and tied up while wriggling around in an attempt to escape. Riveria never let her eyes wander else the goddess of mischief would slip away.

How many times did they save the boy now…? They lost count.

Loki had tried to skewer, smash, burn, slice, and all else in between. They weren't half-assed attempts either. The goddess of mischief had traps set up as though she had planned to kill the boy for years. Every contingency had been looked over. Everything was so thorough it was on par to her greatest feats through her forbidden Arkanum.

She did not, however, plan on her own children intervening.

"She was serious about killing him…" Tiona muttered as she took her seat beside Riveria. "I almost died a few times trying to stop her. Think we should tell the captain?"

"D-Don't bother Master Finn with something like this!" Tione snapped.

"But, come on!" Tiona lifted her arms with exasperation. "Who thinks about dropping a piano on someone? And how did she even get one dangling by a single piece of rope too?"

"There was also the safe."

"And the anvil."

"And the wrecking ball."

"Just how many impossibly heavy things did she try to drop on the guy?"

"…I think twenty-seven?"

"That sounds about right."

"Lady Loki," Riveria cut them off as she spoke to her patron goddess. "Please be considerate of your actions from now on. You attempted to do harm on another _familia's_ child. Even if it is a very small _familia,_ the Guild will not be kind to us. And we may lose a lot of credibility if word gets out our goddess murdered a single child."

Loki responded with something vicious underneath her gag. She flopped around on the floor like an angry fish.

"…Be that as it may," Riveria nodded slowly.

"Wait," Tiona interjected. "You understood her?!"

"You are the head of our team," the high elf continued, ignoring the Amazoness. "What you do will reflect on all of us. If you have something against the boy then please take it up with his goddess. Issue a War Game if it will satisfy you."

Something lit up in Loki's eyes at the idea.

"Hey, uh, Riveria," Tiona waved at the high elf. "Don't you think that's a bit much? It's only a team of one. And he's a newbie too. Having a War Game against him is just bullying."

Riveria chose to not comment on what she observed about the boy this day. She did ponder why her teammates hadn't been able to pick it up. Aiz surely did and was trying to uncover his hidden secrets.

Riveria felt… wary around the boy. Something about him wasn't right. The way he moved was akin to a high-tier adventurer returning after a raid through the deepest pits of the Dungeon. He was constantly alert of his surroundings and ready for an attack. Yet, strangely, almost inhumanly, he behaved and acted like a naïve boy.

Either it was a farce, he was crazy, or there was something very much wrong with him that couldn't be explained through normal means.

A War Game against him might not be so outlandish.

"We're going home," she said while pointing at Loki. "Watch her for me."

"Eh… yeah, sure," Tione and Tiona answered together.

Riveria paced around them, walked up the street, knelt down, and patted Aiz's shoulder.

The girl didn't whirl around surprised. She didn't know her teammates had been following her but she did become aware after hearing Riveria's footsteps.

"Come on, Aiz. I think that's enough. Leave the poor boy alone."

Aiz looked away from where the boy was sharing a meal from Eina. She pouted up at her teammate. There was a notepad full of scribbles in her hands. "But, I'm not done."

…Most of the notes were full of useless info. Such as, for example, the flavor of crepe he had earlier this afternoon. Because, of course, _strawberries_ was the secret ingredient to his superhuman growth.

"If you're so curious about him…" Riveria glanced up towards the boy for a moment. "Why don't you try talking to him instead? You still owe him an apology for the Minotaur attack, don't you?"

Aiz considered it with a tilt of her head. She glanced down from her notes, to the boy in the café, and back to her notes. She nodded to herself, gathered her things, and followed the high elf back up the street.

"I saw her," she said suddenly.

Riveria regarded her without a word.

"She was here, following him too," Aiz stated.

Riveria stopped walking before joining their group. "Is that why you've been doing this all day? You want to get to her?"

Aiz considered the question for another moment. "He was able to fight her. He knew her fighting style. He could counter her. He knew about that magic weapon. He… fought just like her."

Riveria had heard the story. Rather, she had heard the rantings of Loki back in headquarters. Supposedly, the boy had rescued Aiz by fighting against the blacklisted woman on equal par. Loki had _raged_ like no tomorrow; half because her precious Aiz was defeated a second time by the same person and half because some newbie had been the one to save her.

And another half—because it was Loki and nothing made sense to the trickster goddess—because Aiz Wallenstein had shown a considerable amount of interest in the boy. Plus, she had admitted in the tavern the other week she would consider dating him if he asked.

"So you resorted to stalking him to learn more about him… Again, Aiz, just talk to him. Maybe you'll be able to learn more about that mystery woman and her teammates. It would help us a lot if you do. Finn is already preparing for another raid against them."

Aiz nodded without another word.

They returned to their teammates (Tiona was sitting on Loki to keep her still) before departing back to their headquarters at the Twilight House.

0-0-0

"There, you see?" Lyu said simply. "Their relationship is strictly professional. They are departing after their business is finished."

"This was fun," Syr said. "I got to learn so much about Bell's preferences. We should do this again, Lyu."

"…We shouldn't. We've already intruded in Mr. Cranel's private life enough. And we've wasted more than enough time. Mama Mia is going to be angry at us for taking so long to fetch groceries."

"I owe you one, Lyu," Syr said as she stood from her hiding spot. She dusted the dirt off her skirt. "Don't worry, I'll think of something to say to Mama. It was for my sake anyways."

"If you say so," Lyu nodded. "Should we do something about this one?"

She gestured towards the goddess sulking in the corner, drawing hexes into the ground and mumbling dark things about her ward and the half-elf.

"Um… I think it'll be fine," Syr said with halfheartedly. "I'm sure she'll realize nothing's going on between Bell and that girl. Um… Goodbye, Goddess Hestia. It was nice to finally meet you."

The sulking goddess at least had the courtesy to wave a hand while her back was still turned towards them.

Syr and Lyu exchanged a look, shrugged, and left the goddess to herself.

Hestia continued to draw symbols into the ground behind the bushes.

"Bell, you dummy."

0-0-0

Maria walked through the hallways of the gothic castle located on the sixtieth floor of the Dungeon. It was the home of the Hunters for the time being. Her boots echoed against the stone tiles while a few torches lit up as she advanced.

"Ah, Maria, it's good to see you again. Welcome home."

She paused and regarded the man who appeared out of a swirl of light and mist. He had just returned to the base just as she had.

"To you as well, Ludwig," she dipped her head slightly in respect for the Hunter.

"I hope your quest has been fruitful," he man delve into conversation with genuine interest.

"Not as fruitful as I would like," she chose to say.

He noticed immediately on her guarded state. He chose to not comment on it. "It's unfortunate to hear that. I must say it is the same on our end. I feel we are close to the truth but there is still so much we have yet to explore. And the beasts in the lower floors are nearly as perilous as the ones we've fought on our first Hunt."

"There are not as many of us as there once was," she commented. "It cannot be helped if you make slow progress."

"It cannot be helped," he repeated with a few shakes of his head. "We could use more recruits. Have you discovered any in the surface?"

"A few," she chose to say in another careful tone. "They are unlikely to join us. They seem to be… comfortable in the Waking World."

"That is most unfortunate," Ludwig's spirit fell just a partial amount. He shook his head again, "What of the boy? Have you and your team located anything about him?"

She was silent for a moment, her face as unreadable as it always was.

"Gascoine and Hendrik do not make for good seekers," she spoke up. "They are starting to draw in unwanted attention. And I have not spoken to Gehrman yet so I do not have an answer on his part. The search hasn't been as fruitful as I had liked. I may have to change tactics to… hasten the harvest."

Ludwig observed her for a moment. He knew she was hiding something but couldn't find anything to pry out of her.

"If you will excuse me then," Ludwig dipped his head at her. "I have returned to deliver my Blood Echoes to Lord Oedon. We slew a… what was it they call it… a Monster Rex. May the Good Blood be with you in your quest."

She almost sneered at him. He knew she was of the Cainhurst lineage but chose to say such things anyways. She kept her face a complete mask as she tipped her hat at him in reply.

Ludwig turned away from her to pace deeper into the cathedral. Maria turned down another corridor to reach her quarters. She was sure once Ludwig reached Oedon, and therefore Gehrman beside her, he will learn all about her actions on the surface.

0-0-0

Freya screamed.

She threw her wine glass across the floor with everything she had.

"That accursed DOLL!" she screamed in such a high pitch the glass of her window rattled.

"Lady Freya," Ottar, her right hand and _the_ strongest adventurer in all of Orario, watched her at a safe distance. "What is it?"

"My greatest prize…" Freya fell to the floor in agony. She clutched her chest as though her heart was ready to give out. "Soiled. _Tainted._ His soul is different from when I last saw it. It has been contaminated. It bears the same poison as that detestable Primal!"

Tears of agony, regret, sorrow, and roaring hatred flowed down. The goddess of beauty sobbed as the one soul she craved more than any other had been contaminated. It had been the purest soul without color. She wanted to cradle it close to her. She wanted to watch it grow to see what it might become. She wanted to be the one to nurture it and then claim it for herself.

She had never loved another soul like it. Dare she say it might have been true love.

But then… as she gazed down at his actions earlier this afternoon, she saw something wrong with his soul. It was small. It was hardly noticeable. She blinked and it was gone but she knew she didn't imagine it.

The soul was no longer colorless. It was no longer innocent. It was an almost milky, pale color.

A single drop. A single drop fell into his soul.

That was all it needed to ruin the entire thing. His soul was now impure. It was tainted, disgusting, repulsive— a living abomination.

That damnable Primal deity, the Doll going by the name of Oedon, had somehow left a single drop of its presence make its way into the boy's soul while Freya wasn't looking.

"Ottar…" she said in a low voice. She slowly rose, hair and dress swaying as a sliver of her divine power leaked out of her control.

Absolute hatred resonated through her voice.

"Gather a team. Go into the Dungeon. DESTROY THOSE VERMIN!"


	7. Chapter 7

No one had respect for Supporters these days. They lightened the load of adventurers by carrying their gear, made a living out of extracting magic stones out of monster corpses, and had a few hidden talents themselves that could assist an adventurer in times of need. All the adventurer had to worry about was dealing with the monsters in the Dungeon.

But most adventurers looked down on Supporters. All they saw were people who weren't good enough to become adventurers and resorted to becoming mere pack mules.

So when Lilliluka Erde tried to terminate her contract with her latest adventurer… he didn't take it so well.

"Come back here you little shit!"

Lilly ran from him. She was small, barely 100 celch tall, which was just slightly less than the average prum. She knew the alleyways like the back of her hand. She should have been able to escape the adventurer.

But he was an agility-build. And he knew the alleys just as much as she did.

She wasn't going to be able to slip away from him anytime soon.

"I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!" she heard someone rushing a few meders ahead of her.

She didn't have the chance to slow down or get out of the way. The guy was a blur as he burst from the corner and slammed into her. They both went tumbling down.

He had better control over his balance than she did. At the last second he made sure to twist his body, cover her, and fall into a squatting position. But…

"Where do you think you're touching Lilly?!"

But the boy had one arm wrapped around her waist and cupping a feel on her right boob!

"Ehhhhhhh?!" he squealed almost like a girl. He instantly let go and sprang up to his feet.

"There you are you little… who the hell are you?"

The adventurer had finally caught up to her. He eyed the boy while carefully moving forward and placing his hand on the muramasa at his back.

The boy looked from the adventurer to her. He had come to his own conclusion. He squared his shoulders, tried to make a brave face (horrendously failing as his lips quivered), and stood his ground.

"Why are you chasing her?"

"Shut it, brat!" he drew the blade and pointed the tip towards the boy. "If ya don't scram right now, I'll carve ya up along with the piece of shit behind ya!"

The boy didn't say anything at first. He hesitated. He looked over his shoulder and exchanged a look at Lilly. She was still on the floor, her arms over her chest while she glared up at him for what he had done. He gulped, looked away, and hardened his resolve.

He spread his legs out and lifted his hands. He was preparing to fight.

Without a weapon.

"Kid…" the adventurer's brow twitched. "Do you want to die?! The hell is wrong with ya? Is short stack there a friend of yours or something?"

"Never seen her before in my life," he answered in a small and timid tone.

"Then why the hell are ya protecting that piece of shit?!"

The boy considered the question for a moment. He answered slowly, "Because… she's a girl?"

Lilly couldn't help but roll her eyes behind his back.

"The fuck are ya saying?!" the adventurer roared with his brow twitching more angrily than before.

"Just walk away and forget about this," the boy insisted. "I don't know what's going on but you shouldn't point a weapon at a girl. Maybe you're just having a bad day?"

"Fine… I'll slit yer throat first, kid!"

The adventurer rushed in. He drew his arm back and swung his blade at the boy.

Lilly would like to say the boy ducked. But that wasn't right. Sure, in the next instance he was crouching on the floor as the blade sailed over his head. But that wasn't exactly what happened.

She saw the blade go through him. His body had become a layer of mist and in the next instance he was crouching on the ground.

Right after that, he leapt forward, grabbing onto the sword arm of the adventurer, spinning his body around, and twisting the wrist. The adventurer let out a groan of pain as the blade flew out of his hands. Still the boy moved. It all happened in a blur.

He continued to twist the arm, forcing it around the adventurer's back. And then he swept the feet from under him, guiding him while falling to his side, and then shoving him to the floor. The boy put a knee on the adventurer's back with one hand still locked on the arm and the other holding the head flat against the ground.

Lilly was tempted to clap at the spectacle.

"Ya damn stupid brat!" the adventurer spat as he struggled to break free. "Do ya have any idea who yer messin' with?!"

"Please stop!" the boy pleaded as he held him down. "It's over now. Just let it go before it gets any worse."

"You should listen to him."

Another stranger entered the alleyway. Two of them, in fact. They were a pair of maids from a local tavern, carrying a pair of brown bags full of food. The one who spoke was a blonde elf and the one beside her was a human girl with a concerned expression.

The elf looked absolutely murderous. She had a sort of aura around her that frightened Lilly more than the adventurer chasing after her.

Even the boy looked ready to pass out.

"Where the hell do ya rats keep coming from?!"

…Everyone except for the adventurer realized something deadly had made an appearance.

"You intended to kill someone who is destined to become a close companion to someone irreplaceable to me," the elf said as she climbed down the stairs. "Continue with this farce and I will stop you myself."

"L-Lyu…" said the human girl behind her. Her face flushed as she glanced at the boy quickly. "You don't have to say it like that!"

"What the hell is wrong with people today?!" squirmed the adventurer as he tried to stand up. But the boy held him down firmly. "Does everyone wanna die today—"

"Enough."

It was a simple word. Yet it held the gravitas of an executioner bringing down their axe.

The noise of the city seemed to quiet down in response to the elf's tone.

Finally, the adventurer realized he was out of his league.

"You can release him, Mister Cranel," the elf, Lyu, said to the boy. "I believe he understands his situation."

"E-Eh… Y-Yeah. Sure…" the boy was sweating himself as he responded. He slowly got off the man while keeping a cautious eye on the elf.

The adventurer stayed on the floor for a second. He was grinding his teeth with fury. He slammed one fist onto the ground, grabbed his sword, but took off running rather than to try to challenge the boy and elf with his weapon.

"DAMMIT ALL!" he roared out while running away.

0-0-0

Bell let out a heavy breath of air he had been holding in. His heart was hammering.

Just what did he get himself involved in?

"Thank you for helping me, Lyu," he said to her.

"No, I'm sorry for getting in your way," Lyu shook her head with her usual blank expression. "I don't know what came over me. You seemed able to handle the situation without my intervention."

"Eh… I still appreciate your help," he responded while his shoulders sagged. He felt tired all of a sudden.

"You mustn't sell yourself short," Lyu retorted while shifting the balance of the bag in her arms. "You disarmed him adequately. No one was hurt. No blood was shed."

"Y-Yeah but—"

"Enough," she said flatly.

"…Okay," was all he could say.

"Mou~" Syr pouted as she walked up beside Lyu to join the conversation. "You two seem to be on friendly terms. Lyu, I thought you were my friend! Now you're stealing away Bell from me."

Bell blushed as he scratched his cheek. He wished Syr would stop with the teasing. He might look a little young but they were the same age. She shouldn't treat him like a little boy.

Lyu didn't answer right away. She blinked at Syr's words. "Is that so? I haven't noticed. I suppose I have found myself capable of talking to Mister Cranel a little more openly. But I have no intention of getting in your way, Syr."

"Um…" Bell spoke up. "What are you two doing here?"

Lyu didn't answer. Her eyes gestured for Syr to jump in and take her chance.

"We were out getting groceries for tonight," Syr answered with a beaming smile. "You see, the bar is busiest at night because that's when all the adventurers return from the Dungeon. If we don't stock up regularly then there'll be all sorts of problems if we run out on something."

Bell nodded a few times at her words.

"Bell…" Syr put on a pouting face, one of her many weapons against him. "I haven't seen you around lately. I know you're not going to the Dungeon lately but… you haven't been visiting me either. Don't you like me anymore?"

His face reddened to a tomato. He waved his hands around in denial, "N-N-N-No! It's nothing like that Syr! My goddess and I have just been so busy lately! We've been looking for a new place to purchase."

"Really?"

"Really! I promise!"

"That's still not nice of you to not tell me," she went on. "I've been waiting for you every night for the past few nights but you never showed up. I was starting to think you didn't care about me any longer. It was making me sad."

"But I just said that wasn't the case…" Bell's shoulders sagged a little more.

"You shouldn't play with a maiden's heart like that. But…" she dragged out the word and paused, making sure she had his full attention. "If you promise to come by for dinner, I might forgive you. I'll be angry if you don't."

Poor Bell didn't stand a chance against her. All he could do was nod in agreement and make the promise. Even when it struck him like a bolt of lightning she had suckered him into spending more val at the Benevolent Mistress. She was, without a doubt, going to pile on all of the special orders like she did the first time he showed up.

"I can't come tonight," he said to her. "I have plans with my goddess. But I'll be able to come tomorrow. For sure!"

"We have to get these back to the bar before it gets any later," Syr said with a brightened smile after shaking off her crocodile tears. "Are you ready Lyu?"

"Oh, wait!" Bell put up a hand towards Lyu before she was about to depart. "Um… Lyu? Can I have talk to you real quick? It's about our, um, friend…"

Lyu eyed him with her stoic gaze. Her eyelids drooped slightly as she nodded.

Syr frowned. She wanted to stick around so to make sure Bell really didn't have an interest in Lyu. Lyu was a very pretty elf, after all. But the conversation seemed something private. She had no choice but to step back and let them have their privacy.

"Yesterday I received a package from Eileen," Bell said in a low voice for only Lyu to hear. She still kept a fair amount of distance from him but nothing suggested she couldn't hear him. "She gave me back the Blade of Mercy with a note telling me to not get rid of them. But… see… the thing is… they belong to Lady Hephaestus. She bought them from my goddess and—"

"You are mistaken," Lyu said in her normal voice. She wasn't bothered if Syr heard. "The ones you hold now are her personal tools. Every Hunter who returns from the Dream returns with their equipment. Was that not the case with you, Mister Cranel? The ones Goddess Hephaestus purchased are still in her possession… Is there anything else?"

He ended up scrunching his eyes and scratching his head in thought. How in the world did that work? Eileen gave him her Blade of Mercy right before she passed away from the Dream. So, while he had _her_ weapon throughout the Dream, how did she wake up into Orario with another set?

It made his head hurt trying to figure it out.

"…Is it really okay if I have them?" he asked in a shaky voice. "I mean, is it safe? I've been hearing a lot of mean things about Eileen. I believe in her but… I don't want my goddess to be in any danger because of another _familia_ but I don't want to anger Eileen either."

"Your worries are understandable," Lyu agreed. "However, I cannot be the one to decide for you. What you do with them is up to you. However, it would be best to keep them. There are other dangers out there besides a few _familias_ who hold an old grudge. I believe you will find no better weapon elsewhere. Not even by Hephaestus herself."

He found himself agreeing with her. She was right.

There was Lady Maria to worry about. He wasn't sure if he could beat her with any other weapon. After browsing the entire day through weapons, after evaluating all of their stats, he couldn't help but compare them to the Trick Weapons of Hunters. Only those found in the ridiculously expensive Hephaestus shop could keep up and even then they fell short.

"Thank you, Lyu," he said with a reassured smile. "I feel better about this now. I'll find a way to convince my goddess."

Lyu only bowed in a departing courtesy before turning away.

"Bye Bell!" Syr waved a few fingers while her arms held the bag close to her chest. "Make sure to remember your promise! I'll see you tomorrow night for dinner!"

He gave her a very nervous smile. He was and wasn't looking forward to dinner tomorrow. On one hand, the Benevolent Mistress was full of cute maids. And Syr gave him special treatment. But on the other hand… he felt his wallet was going to implode.

Wait a minute… Dinner…

"Oh no!" he realized what he had completely forgotten. His head whipped around to look up at the sky. It was getting darker. "I'm late! The goddess is going to kill me! I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!"

He took off running, continuing with his previous emergency. He had gone home to drop off what he bought, dressed in something appropriate for dinner, and then realized he was running behind schedule.

With everything that happened, he had forgotten about the prum he had rescued. He was sure she was fine somewhere. She was probably frightened off by Lyu since she took off running as soon as the elf maid showed up.

0-0-0

"Ah," Gascoigne's head followed after where the boy ran off towards. "There he is."

"That him?" asked Hendryk. "I remember him being taller."

"You don't recognize him?"

"Only met him once," the other man shrugged while leaning against the wall. They followed the boy until he bled in with the rest of the crowds. "Was fighting against my life at the moment against that damn Crow. He came in last second to help her. Didn't get a good look at his face."

"That's him," Gascoigne reassured. He moved away from the edge of the alleyway to slink back into the shadows. His partner followed after him. "I haven't forgotten his stench."

"Do we call it in?"

"Maria hasn't. I was wondering why she was acting so strange lately. I told you we should have ignored her just for today. And look what we find. She knew about the boy all along. No, we keep this to ourselves for the time being. The Hunt is ours. It's… personal."

"It explains her orders…" Hendryk muttered. "She wanted us away from him. But why?"

"We all want a piece of the rabbit," Gascoigne replied while he reached into his pocket and pulled out a music box. He flipped it open and listened to the tune with such focus it was almost a drug in itself. He shuddered as he forced himself to close it.

"He's done us all wrong," he finished and walked deeper into the darkness.

0-0-0

 _He adored listening to the stories of the Healing Church._

 _"Lady Maria…"_

 _They had developed the miraculous blood transfusion. The Healing Blood cured anyone of injury or disease. Nothing save for the most critical of accidents and time itself could ward off its effects. People flocked from everywhere to Yharnam in pursuit of this miracle elixir._

 _"Lady Maria… save us."_

 _But with the flood of people came the arrival of the beasts._

 _"Lady Maria… please hold my hand!"_

 _Yet, once again, the Healing Church stepped in. They engaged the beasts with their own factions of Hunters. It was their sworn duty to protect the citizens of Yharnam and promised to purge the beasts. They were ready. They were prepared._

 _He should have realized that, maybe, they were a little too prepared._

 _"Lady Maria… please kill me…"_

 _"Lady Maria… end my suffering."_

 _His opinion on the Healing Church started to sway once he read about the purges. Districts were burnt to the ground, suspects infected with the bad blood were dragged out of their home and executed out of fear, and some who went to their facilities for a cleansing never returned._

 _He remembered what Djura said. He was a Hunter who had sworn to protect the beasts roaming around Old Yharnam, one of the districts the Church had set aflame years afore. He had told Bell the things he had been Hunting weren't always beasts._

 _They had once been human._

 _"Lady Maria! Guide us!"_

 _"Lady Maria!"_

 _"Lady Maria!"_

 _Simon had only reaffirmed his suspicions. He never answered any of Bell's questions. He only encouraged the boy to continue on with his journey, to delve deeper into the Nightmare and the secrets it had sworn to protect._

 _Bell had learned from the man in the Hunter's prison Simon had once been a member of the Church. His garb was proof of it. Simon had been sworn into the Church's most elite and secret faction, pretending to be a beggar so to have a closer ear to the innermost workings of Yharnam's citizens. It was his task to silently remove anyone suspected of infection without being noticed._

 _Bell had been warned to turn back. There were no beasts for him to Hunt. Yet he pressed forward._

 _He owed Ludwig that much after slaying the once and glorified First Executioner of the Healing Church._

 _He was regretting it._

 _"Not a pretty sight, is it?" Simon asked him once he joined him in his wandering through the Hunter's Nightmare. "The true face of the blood-worshipping, beast-purging Healing Church."_

 _There wasn't a hint of mockery in his voice. He was beyond that. He had known all along about the darkness behind the Healing Church. He stated it as simply as he was commenting on the weather._

 _They were in the Research Hall of the Healing Church. This was their main facility._

 _It was a house of horrors._

 _It was designed to be something akin to a hospital ward. There were multiple floors within the clock tower with several rooms lining with poster beds. Medical equipment were pressed against the walls along with several cases of the Healing Blood. A spiral staircase rested at the center of the building in order to easily access any department._

 _The inhabitants of the Research Hall were grossly mutated. They resembled humanoid figures, almost as much as the beasts of the Hunt. They were tall, lanky, and all of them had overgrown, pulsing, bulbous wads of puss for heads. They wandered around the hallways, dragging their feet and IV stands, and continued to chant nonsense under their breaths._

 _They either muttered something relating to water… or prayed to Lady Maria for salvation._

 _"But that's not all," Simon went on. He gestured to the grand staircase. "You seek the secrets field by the Nightmare, do you not? Then here's what you must do. Climb the Astral Clocktower, and kill Maria. She hides the real secret…"_

 _Bell hesitated. This wasn't the real secret? This wasn't the worst of the Church? What else could they have hidden? He didn't want to learn more about the darkness of the people he had looked up to._

 _But it was this questioning that had him climbing the spiral staircase._

0-0-0

Bell nearly jerked awake. His body spasmed and he stopped himself from leaping off the sofa. He remembered walking out into the garden by the Research Hall and facing against what Simon called the Living Failures. They were the abominations the Healing Church had thrown away in their pursuit of matching the greatness of the Old Ones.

He woke up from that nightmare because the back of his mind told him he had _murdered_ things that were once human.

"Mmm… Bell… 'Nuther nightmare…?"

He would have sat up if he could. But, hiding under the covers and laying on his chest, was his goddess. Her hair was down and she was in her sleepwear. She mumbled while rubbing her eyes and lifting her head to look at him in a sleepy gaze.

If the nightmare didn't startle him, he was completely awake now.

"G-G-Goddess! What're you doing on the sofa?!"

She yawned and sat up on his legs. She shivered once and wrapped the blanket around herself. "You were saying something in your sleep and tossing around. I tried to wake you but you wouldn't. So I stayed with you until you calmed down."

"…I'm sorry for waking you in the middle of the night, goddess," he mumbled sincerely. "I've caused you so much trouble when you weren't feeling well."

"…Huh?" she blinked at him in confusion.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked as he sat up. "Is your stomach hurting still? Why don't you try to go back to bed?"

She had told him she couldn't make it to dinner because of a sudden stomachache. There was nothing that could be done about that. He made her tea to settle her stomach the night before. They went to bed shortly afterwards with the promise to have their dinner-night some other time.

On the bright side, he didn't make her wait. He couldn't be late if the plans were canceled.

"O-Oh that," she looked away. "Don't worry about that. I'm feeling fine. But, Bell, you've been having nightmares more than often. Do you want to talk about it?"

He would very much love not to.

"I'm fine, goddess," he said with a small smile to try and assure her. "Just the stress from Monsterphilia, I think."

His goddess eyed him with another worried expression. All she could do was sigh and relent, "Alright, if you say so. Just… Bell, you know you can talk to me about anything, right? If anything's troubling you, please let me know. I don't like it when you're like this. You're starting to scare me."

He lowered his head with guilt. He was starting to become a burden to her after everything she's given him. She was his goddess. She was more than just the only one who would take in a newbie adventurer. She was his family.

"…It's too early," she grumbled while pushing him down and laying back on top of him. She rubbed her cheek against his chest as she curled up under the blanket. "Let's go back to sleep. Just like this."

"B-Bathroom!" he blurted out _and then_ deciding that it was a good idea. He managed to get out of her clutches to reach the washroom. He shut the door behind him and let out a breath of air. His heart was racing with too much excitement in the morning.

His friend downstairs was angry with him. It enjoyed when the goddess was rubbing her legs against his thighs and…

He dunk his head into the bucket of water they used as fresh water. The water was cold enough to send a jolt of shock throughout his body. He shouldn't be having such improper thoughts about his goddess, no matter how much his mind and body enjoyed being so close to her.

It was early in the morning with the sun still away, but he might as well get today started.

A couple minutes later and he stepped out of the washroom to gather his things.

He found his goddess huddled in a little ball underneath his blanket. He heard her muttering something incoherent and chose to pretend to have not heard.

"Are you going out to the Dungeon?" she asked after a few more minutes of silence.

She had heard him gather his equipment. He had prepared his backpack, donned the Hunter's cloak, and place the Blade of Mercy at his waist. The coat did well to hide it as he buckled it shut. He was able to do some tailoring the night before but had yet to pull back the sleeves. The bottom hem touched down to his ankles—a little longer than the coat he used before—and it wasn't a necessity to trim.

…Until he tripped. Maybe he should trim that next.

"I'm going to take it easy and stay in the upper floors," he answered her. "My hand still hurts a little but I should be fine. Besides, I want to try out my new gear."

She yawned and stretched, lifting her arms over her head and arching her back. Bell took the chance to peek over his high collar to look at the way her breasts pressed against the thin fabric. His heart skipped a beat and he felt all the blood rush up to his face when he could make out the outlines of two pointy objects trying to pierce through the gown. He took his eyes off of her as soon as she was done and lowered her arms.

"Stay safe then," she told him before falling sideways onto the spot he slept on. She nuzzled her face into his pillow and made herself comfortable.

"Sleep well, goddess," he told her before starting to head out.

"Bell…" he heard her call out to him just before he was about to climb the stairs to the surface floor.

He turned to look at her over his shoulder.

She was looking up at him by the edge of the blanket.

"…Have a good day," she said softly.

He smiled at her, "You too, goddess."

He climbed the stairs and shut the secret door quietly. It was a brisk morning. He shivered at the sudden cold after stepping out of the warmth of their hidden room. The church they lived underneath was rundown and in ruins. It was drafty with half the roof collapsed and missing glass from the windows.

He stretched while he walked. He decided it would be best to jog his way to the Dungeon in order to warm up.

Orario never slept. Even now, with the sky turning a pale gray with the sun still beyond the horizon, people moved about the streets of North Main. Adventurers were on their way to Babel Tower to begin their daily routine of Dungeon exploring. Shops were starting to open up while others were closing at the approaching daylight.

"Good morning, Syr!" he said while passing by the Benevolent Mistress.

"B-Bell?!" the ashen-haired girl nearly dropped her broom. She had been sweeping the front deck when he called out to her. "Wait a minute! Come back here!"

He jogged backwards until he was in front of her, but he kept his legs pumping.

"You're earlier than usual and you surprised me with today of all days…" she puckered her lips in the cute way that had suckered him to spending money too many times. "Just wait here a moment. I'll be right back."

She placed her broom against the wall of the tavern and rushed back inside. He kept his pace while tilting his head to gaze inside. There was some commotion going from behind the scenes and he was sure he heard Syr's voice mixed with someone else's. He didn't have to wait long for her to return.

"Here you are," she said with a sweet smile as she stretched her arms out to deliver him a wrapped lunch.

He stopped jogging in place. He knew these were her morning rations— her breakfast, really. She told him she would snack on something throughout the day but her next major meal wouldn't be until dinner.

"Syr, you don't have to give me your breakfast," he said.

…His stomach didn't exactly agree with him. It chose to roar out in defiance.

"I think you need it more than me," she said with a few giggles under her breath. She forced the bundle into his hands before he could protest further. "This is me cheering you on. And… this is another reason to make sure you keep your promise. You do remember… right?"

She lowered her head and gazed up at him through her bangs. She looked so cute and innocent whenever she did that. Especially with the way she swayed around while nervously playing with her hands.

He remembered the promise. He had never forgotten. He was going to come to dinner like he had promised. But now he couldn't break that promise no matter what. Not with the way she was acting.

He also knew this was all just an act. She just wanted his money.

But… was he a sucker for cute girls like Syr.

He wasn't sure whether to blame or thank his grandfather for this one.

"I remember," he told her while stuffing the lunch away in his backpack. "I'll be coming right after I get done with the Dungeon."

"Be sure to spend lots tonight!" she said while tilting her head and smiling brighter than ever.

"…S-Sure," he said with a nervous smile.

They said their goodbyes and he went back to his jog.

Another minute later and he was halted by the herd of adventurers making their way to Babel Tower. Despite the massive gates, there was still heavy traffic. Just about every _familia_ in Orario was making their way to the Dungeon at the same time. This was the morning rush that Bell slept through.

"Huh… there are so many people this early in the morning," he said to no one in particular. The sun was barely creeping over the mountains miles away from the city.

"There's always morning traffic in any city," commented the adventurer beside him as he moved on. "No matter what World you're in."

"See, this is why I fly everywhere," said his partner.

"You don't even drive! You're like, what, sixteen?!"

"Seventeen. And even then I can either catch the bus or just walk. Or fly."

"Go to hell, Hyoudou. Just… go to hell."

What a very odd bunch. At the least Bell wasn't the only one carrying his own gear. The two of them were carrying their own bags on their back as they sank into the crowds.

But as Bell peered around him, he began to take notice that hardly any of the adventurers were carrying their own things. They wore their armor and kept their weapons on hand, sure, but standing beside them or behind them was at least one Supporter. Bell began to take notice how many Supporters there were.

He wondered if Eina had been able to find a Supporter for him. Hmm… no, most likely not. For all her amazement, it had hardly been a full day since they saw each other. She was probably busy with the morning rush in the Guild to be worrying about him. He wasn't her only client.

"Mister, mister! You with the white hair!"

He blinked and turned around.

Standing right in front of him was the prum girl he had saved yesterday evening. She was dressed in a white cloak with a hood over her head. But he recognized her despite not seeing her face.

And… on her back was a sack three times her size. Literally! It was larger than she was. He could fit himself inside and have plenty of comfortable space with all his things! This little girl was carrying something as large as that?!

"Um… hi," he said as he leaned forward to get a good look at her. "You're the girl from yesterday, aren't you?"

"…Have you met Lilly before?" she said after shuffling her balance. "Mister must be confusing someone else with Lilly. Lilly only saw you with a bag. Lilly was only wondering if you don't have a Supporter."

He scratched his head. He was pretty sure this was the same girl.

Hunters don't last long in the Hunt by second-guessing.

So he didn't understand why she was feigning ignorance. But it wasn't his place to question it. She might have had her reasons. Or… he wasn't that impressive to remember. She probably didn't remember it was him who saved her. She probably remembered Lyu more than him.

Adventurers were giving them a look. They were standing in the middle of the road and Lilly's bag was blocking two people's worth of standing space. The adventurers had to go around her and were getting annoyed over the inconvenience.

"I don't have a Supporter," he said. "I asked my advisor to look for one."

She clapped her hands together and spoke in a chipper tone, "Then would you like to hire Lilly?! Oh, Lilly hasn't introduced herself. Lilliluka Erde is Lilly's name!"

He smiled politely and extended his hand, "Bell Cranel. Um… Lilly? Do you think we can talk about this elsewhere? We're blocking everyone's path."

"Sure!" she said while shaking his hand. "Lilly needs to discuss the terms of employment anyways!"

0-0-0

The fifth floor wasn't as packed as he thought it would. Of course it wasn't. He was still a newbie. All the other adventurers had plowed their way through and went into the lower and more difficult floors. That's what sucked most about being a solo adventurer; even the newbies of respectable _familias_ got to be carried by their stronger teammates. They got to go to the lower floors and gain more excelia faster.

And magic stones, which would be exchanged for val.

By no means did he regret joining _Hestia Familia._ But he did wish his goddess would accept a few more adventurers. They were going to blow out the money Hephaestus had given them before they knew it! There was only so much Bell could do as a solo adventurer!

He was only getting scraps in the fifth floor. The goblins and kobolds were only giving him spare change.

He decided to push himself and go down into the seventh floor.

There was a slight change in difficulty.

Bell moved as the killer ants blocked his path. Each one was as large as he was. Their skin was as hard as stone and if they weren't dealt with quickly then they would call for backup. Killer ants lived in farms. While they might be a few here, this floor was crawling with hundreds of them within its walls.

They were still no match for him and his Blade of Mercy.

The Trick Weapon carved through their hardened skin with no resistance. He swung it around as a short sword as he pressed forward. Every swing had killed at least one of them. Sometimes he could gather them together and kill two at a time.

While he wanted to test how durable the Hunter's cloak was, his instincts and habits told him otherwise. He kept on his feet and constantly moved. He never stayed in the same place longer than a breath. He never allowed himself to get surrounded. He dominated the battlefield by controlling where his enemy would move.

He found the seventh floor to be easy.

It was almost disappointing.

"Mister Bell! Behind—"

He was already moving before Lilly called out to him. He had heard the low rumble of tunneling within the walls of the Dungeon before she did. He leapt forward with the Blade of Mercy pointed directly ahead.

A killer ant popped out of the wall. It didn't get the chance to slip out before Bell cut off its head. Its body hung up there.

He remembered when he would be panicking, flopping around everywhere, and running away after realizing he was gravely outnumbered. Now he only thought about how to use their numbers against them. He was using tactics to manipulate them to herd together and pick them off carefully.

The Dream had only been one night. He shouldn't have been this much different since the Minotaur attack.

But… in fairness, it ruled under dream-time. He could have been there for a few short hours, or a couple days, or maybe a full year for all he knew.

"Mister Bell sure is amazing!" said Lilly as she went straight to work. She pulled out a special knife used to get under their armor to extract the magic stone. "Lilly has only seen strong adventurers move like that. Are you sure you're a newbie?"

Her question caught him flatfooted. Yharnam had their own unique brand of dungeons. He shuddered at the memory of them. But, he also found how their foundations weren't all that different than the Dungeon within Orario.

He wasn't sure how to answer her and instead chose to ignore the question.

He watched her work. She was a lot faster than him. She was able to peel back their hide and pull out the magic stone at their core in a matter of seconds. He would have been struggling for a couple of frustrating minutes.

"Lilly has also never seen a weapon like that," she said while staring at the Blade of Mercy. "What is it? It looks… unique."

He flicked his arm downwards. The blood splattered against the wall. Not a single drop stained the ashen metal.

"It was a gift from a friend," he chose to say. "There's really no weapon like it."

Lilly said nothing as she worked. She was able to extract another stone while keeping her eyes locked on the Blade of Mercy.

"Mister Bell," she stood and pointed towards the killer ant lodged in the wall. She flipped her carving knife to hand it to him. "Lilly can't reach that one. Can you—"

"Sure, sure," he said with a friendly smile.

She nearly yelped when his arm blurred. He stuck the Blade into the carcass of the ant from underneath and pulled it out of the wall. It fell to the floor with a thud.

He flicked the weapon clean again, tucked it underneath his cloak, and scratched the back of his head. "Sorry, Lilly. But you're better at this than me."

She withheld her groan of frustration. But, honestly, what was she thinking? She couldn't just take that weapon and think he wouldn't notice. He would notice instantly the shift in weight if she tried to take it while he was distracted.

"Don't worry, Mister Bell," she said as she went to work. "This part is Lilly's job. You just need to worry about the monsters."

"You know, Lilly, you can just call me Bell…"

She shook her head, "Mister Bell can call Lilly whatever he likes. But Lilly will keep an air of professionalism. After all, Lilly is just a Supporter and Mister Bell is the adventurer."

He wanted to say something. But then his stomach growled. He instead lowered his head in embarrassment.

"Why don't we have lunch?" he suggested.

When she was done, they relocated to a wide area for them to sit together and have lunch. Lilly had a sweet bun while Bell had a packaged meal. It looked like something his sweetheart had packed carefully for… or his mother.

"Ah, here Lilly," he said as he pulled out one of the sandwiches. "You can have one of these."

She eyed him, "Mister Bell, are you sure? That looks like someone went through a lot of effort to make. Lilly doesn't want to be some sort of homewrecker."

"…I have no idea what you're talking about," he said while leaning forward to hand her the sandwich anyways. "Just take it. You can't just eat bread. Look, this has meat and cheese in it! There's some fruit in here too if you like. I have plenty to share."

Lilly thought he was just naïve. She didn't think he was also thick.

"If Mister Bell insists…" she said and took him up on his offer.

He tried to strike up a conversation with her. He tried to get to know her.

She gave him blunt remarks and vague answers. She didn't want there to be a connection between them. She didn't want to get attached to this foolish boy.

All she wanted was to find her chance to take that expensive looking weapon and sell it. She had heard him talking to that elf girl about them. He thought he was being quiet enough. Maybe he had fooled that other maid but Lilly's ears were sharp. She had heard his entire conversation around the corner of another side street.

Maybe then she would be able to clear her debts.

Now… if only she could get him to stop talking.

0-0-0

Bell slammed two pouches full of val on the bench. He and Lilly had just returned from the Exchange department of the Guild after a full day down in the Dungeon. Both were silent for a moment as they stared at the pouches.

Finally, the excitement came rushing in on them.

"T-Thirty thousand val?!" Bell shouted with disbelief.

"That's amazing, Mister Bell!" Lilly agreed with a few feverish nods. She was eyeing the coins hungrily. "It's because Mister Bell is a strong adventurer. Usually a group of five make this much in a day. You were able to do it by yourself."

Thirty thousand val… he still couldn't believe it. He had been able to make that much collectively since the start of his career as an adventurer. He'd have been lucky if he managed to make a thousand in a day. He'd have considered it his golden week if he had made five thousand.

But after his experience from the Hunter's Dream, the monsters in the earliest floors of the Dungeon were cakewalk. There was no contest. He plowed through all of them like a real predator.

"Now, Mister Bell," Lilly began in a professional, if not wary, tone. "There's just the matter of splitting the earnings."

"Oh yeah, sure," he said while picking up one of the pouches. He placed it in her hands. "Here you go."

She stared at him with her jaw slack. "W-Wha…? M-Mister Bell! Aren't you going to try to take all of it for yourself?!"

"No… not really. I was just thinking I wouldn't have been able to make this much without you. I'd waste too much time gathering the magic stones. And my backpack only lets me carry so much before I have to go up to the Guild and exchange them. I'd be lucky if I had gotten a tenth of what we got normally."

She was flabbergasted by him and his generosity.

She pitied him somewhat. Only fools were this nice. People probably walked all over him.

"If that's what Mister Bell says…" she said while placing the pouch in her large bag.

"Hey, Lilly, are you free by any chance?" he asked suddenly. "I had some dinner arrangements. Would you like to tag along? We can celebrate our earnings together!"

She wanted to decline. He was too nice for his own good. But… this might be an opportune chance to get close to him and take his weapon while he was distracted. Maybe if they go someplace with a lot of cute girls and some alcohol she could swipe them easily. And she'd never have to see him again.

"Sure!" she said cheerily.

0-0-0

"You want to do what?" scoffed Gareth.

"Ya heard me," Loki leaned against the table of the meeting room. "A War Game."

"We heard that part," Finn said with a careful smile. "I think what we're all asking is… for what reason? And against _Hestia Familia_? I know you don't get along but… don't you think this is going too far, Lady Loki?"

"Because somethin' ain't right about her child," Loki pressed with a sneer. "He's cheatin' somehow. He got lucky against the Minotaur after Aizu wounded it. But it's more than a coinkidink if he matched against that _kenki_."

Finn blinked at that. His eyes narrowed a fragment.

"Aiz was already hurt," Tione offered with a shrug. "She would have mopped the floor with her if she was at full strength. The only reason why they beat us the first time was because they caught us while we were camping on the fiftieth floor. And didn't you say his weapon shattered after a few blows? He can't be that strong if he has weak gear."

"We're talking about the rabbit that ran away from the Minotaur?" Bete scoffed. "Tomato Boy?! The hell is this about him facing against that crazy broad?"

"He protected me," Aiz said flatly. It hurt her pride to say such a thing but they continued to belittle his triumphs. "He distracted Maria before she could hurt me further. If he wasn't there—"

"Aiz, I think you need to get your head checked," Bete cut her off. "That _kenki_ hurt you more than you realized. She was able to match you back in the Dungeon. What makes you think some newbie could stand up against her?"

She didn't respond. She could only glare at him as words failed to form to argue for the boy's sake.

"Lady Maria…? I thought it was her."

Heads turned towards their captain as he muttered to himself. Finn's head was downcast as he was deep in thought.

"Oi, Finn," Loki barked. "Ya know the _kenki_ or something?"

"Only by reputation," he answered firmly. He had hoped it was enough to satisfy them but they were all hungry for information at this point. He had to give them something. "She's not from around here. She belongs to a group of monster hunters. And among their ranks she's one of the best."

"Not from around here?" questioned Tiona. "But Orario is practically the center of the world. Only the strongest of adventurers are found here. Everyone else out there can't break past the third level."

Finn could only shrug and offer an apologetic smile.

"I've heard of brigands uniting for similar cases," Gareth offered. "Up north where it's cold there are a few clans that have disputes over who can slay the bigger monster. But monsters aren't as strong as the ones found in the Dungeon. I can't see how these people are so strong."

"Never underestimate the rest of the world," Finn offered with his smile frozen in place. "These people have killed the worst monsters imaginable. I believe they could have killed the Leviathan and Behemoth if they had been available during their prime. If they are here… then it means they've found a prey that can match their strength. Especially if all of them have gathered rather than just one of them."

"...Do they aim to kill the one-eyed dragon?" Aiz asked. Her eyes narrowed. Her immaculate expression broke as animosity and vengeance sang throughout all of her being. Everyone in the room felt it.

Finn lowered his head as he too had to look away.

"…Perhaps," he offered in a careful tone.

His response only made Aiz's eyes sharpen.

Loki opened the slit of her eyes just a fraction. Her orange orbs glared hard at Finn. "Ya know something, don'tcha? Ya knew all along what we're up against."

"I recognized them but didn't want to believe it," Finn admitted. "They're not supposed to be here. Last I heard… they were all wiped out by one of their own."

"Whole lotta good that did," Bete clicked his tongue. "What kinda idiot doesn't finish the job?"

"Please do not disrespect Good Hunter Cranel," Finn said in a sharp tone. He lost his smile as he looked squarely at Bete.

The room became quiet as their normally calm captain spoke in such a sharp tongue.

"…That name," Aiz said. She looked at her captain. "What was his name?"

Finn looked at her with a slight tilt of his head and a raised brow. "The Good Hunter? That was what everyone called him— from what I've heard, anyways. But, ah… I believe his name was… Bell Cranel?"

Her eyes widened slightly. She fell back in her chair with her head lowering in thought. She curled a finger underneath her chin.

Finn watched her closely. His brows came together until he realized it.

"…That's the name of the boy, isn't it?" he asked Loki. "Bell Cranel? The one who was able to match against Lady Maria?"

"That's the name she called 'im by," Loki waved a hand as though she smelled something foul. "But, come on. He's just some bunny rabbit who called himself that. Pro'lly found it in some book or the tabloid or somethin'."

"…Lady Loki," Finn spoke in a firm voice befitting his status as team captain. "I've sworn an oath to serve you and this team. But I cannot condone this War Game. I will not participate in it if you wish to initiate it. If this is the person I believe it is, the one who killed Lady Maria before, I think it would be a tremendous mistake to make him our enemy."

"Hah?!" Loki let her mouth hang open. "The hell ya sayin' Finn? You can't be scared just cuz of some wannabe pretending he's his fave hero or whatever!"

"I second Finn's decision," Riveria spoke up. She had observed the argument and decided it was better now to say her piece before things collapsed. "Regardless of his reasons, I believe this would cripple our reputation, Lady Loki. We are a top _familia._ We can't challenge a fresh team out of some petty grudge."

"P-Petty?!" Loki spat.

"Honestly, this feels kinda like bullying," Tiona said next. "It's a _familia_ of one. We have more than two hundred members. Even if it's just here today against him it's still unfair."

Tiona shared a wink with Aiz. Aiz's eyes twinkled as she gave her teammate a small nudge of a nod.

"What're we doing this for again?" Gareth growled. "Cuz some new kid rescued Aiz? We should be congratulating him instead. Hey, Aiz, why don't you give the lad a kiss or something? I'm sure he'd love that!"

Aiz tilted her head towards the ceiling as she thought about it. She _did_ need to approach him anyways to learn more about him. Maybe she could use that to her advantage? Hmm… but it would be her first kiss— the one with Tiona doesn't count. Maybe she could kiss him on the cheek? It was something to consider.

"There's nothing to consider!" Loki roared out as though she were reading Aiz's thoughts. "That ain't happenin', ya hear me?! Don't say stupid things like that, Gareth!"

The dwarf snorted as he grumbled something under his breath.

"Regardless," Riveria spoke up once again. "We don't have probable cause to declare a War Game against Goddess Hestia."

"Then why the hell did ya suggest it?" Loki barked at her.

"To calm you down so you would stop trying to kill him… if not momentarily."

"You know she's not going to give up now that the idea is there," Tione said.

Her sister nodded, "Yeah. I can already see her either trying to find a reason, make one herself, or provoke the Little Rabbit into declaring war himself."

"…Ya know I can hear ya two."

"We know," they said together.

"I'll do it," Bete said aloud. "Doesn't need to be a War Game. I think a private duel should do the trick. The little punk needs to respect his seniors anyways."

"You're just saying that because Aiz chose him over you," cackled Tiona with one hand covering her mouth to hide her snickering.

"Get off with that!" he barked after slamming a fist onto the table. "It ain't even about that! Oi, Finn. This Cranel guy you're talking about. He really beat those guys down in the Dungeon before?"

"…Yes," Finn said while keeping a careful eye on Bete.

"Then that kid doesn't do him justice," Bete crossed his arms. "If you wanna carry such a badass name, you gotta have the power to back it up. You gotta earn those kinds of things."

"Don't try to find justification for bullying," Riveria said.

"Actually…" Finn began as he thought for a moment. "That might be fine."

They all looked at him.

He went on, "Why not just challenge him to a private duel? That way we can find out for sure if he really is a newbie or on par with Lady Maria. Lady Loki, if Bete wins you can be satisfied with this, can't you? We would have to compensate his _familia._ "

Loki slouched in her seat as she crossed her arms. She pouted but said, "Yeah… I suppose that's dandy. Bete, ya better make sure ya bring him to the edge of death."

"…Please try to not get carried away," Finn said to Bete.

The wolf-person sniffed at that.

"Is that fine with you, Aiz?" Finn asked with his usual friendly smile. "You're not upset about any of this, are you?"

She shook her head slowly. "No, this will do. I am curious about him myself. I want to see what he is capable of. And… I am confident he would win."

"Like hell he will!" Bete barked. "Seriously, Aiz, you've been all over that boy since the Minotaur incident. Just what do you see in him?"

She thought about it for a moment.

She had a myriad of answers but… none of which she was willing to share. And those she _might_ be willing to let go, she couldn't find the right words to express them.

"I am curious," was all she could say. And it was the furthest what she wanted to say. But, alas, she was never one for words.

"Then the last thing we would need is to issue the challenge in the first place… and to have Mister Cranel agree to it," Finn went on. "If it's alright with all of you, I think it would be best if I go to represent our team. I will declare the challenge in the name of sport rather than insult. He might be willing to come along if he believes it is a learning experience."

"Why you?" Bete asked.

"Because I'm team captain," Finn answered simply. "And I also believe he would be scared off by you, Lady Loki, and Aiz. A friendly face might keep him in place just long enough."

The three named frowned at that for different reasons.

Aiz was practically pouting. She did nothing wrong against the boy. She didn't know why he ran away from her during the Minotaur incident.

"I think this… _emergency_ team meeting is concluded," Finn said after looking around the table. No one was objecting with his words. "That's all then. Everyone's dismissed."

0-0-0

Plate after plate after plate was slammed down right in front of Bell.

"I… I didn't order this…" he said in a weak voice.

"Oh Bell, you're so funny," Syr laughed with a twisted smile. She smiled but he could feel the bloodlust radiating off of her. "A growing boy like you needs to eat more. You need to bulk up if you're going to be _charming other women_."

"Hey, Syr, can I have another ale?" one patron called out.

"Coming~" she sang in a benevolent tune as though she hadn't been spewing fire between her teeth. With that, she went back to her serving duties.

He didn't know why she was in such a bad mood. She was spewing sunshine and rainbows as soon as he stepped into the tavern. But as soon as he introduced Lilly did all that become a fountain of blood.

Syr wasn't the only one being like this. All the other maids were giving him a mean look. Even Mama Mia was looking at him with disappointment. She went out of her way to look at him, make sure their eyes had met, and shake her head in disapproval.

"Mister Bell is incredibly inconsiderate."

Even Lilly was upset with him!

"I… I didn't even do anything…" he sobbed as he dug into the plate of deep fried fish. It was the house specialty and one of the most expensive dishes on the menu.

He cried as all of today's earnings were being flushed away.

"What you're saying is only reaffirming Lilly's words," she said at his side. "Lilly said she didn't want to be a homewrecker. So not only did Mister Bell give Lilly a bento made by that girl, you also ignored her invitation."

"But I'm here…" he said between bites. He was slowing down. His stomach felt like it was about to explode. "I didn't ignore her. I promised to come and here I am."

Lilly could only sigh out of sympathy for poor Syr. She had a long road ahead of her.

"…Maybe Mister Bell should apologize to her?" she suggested. "Lilly thinks she was looking forward to being alone with you."

"But I thought she would have been happy if I brought a friend," he said after swallowing. "You know, supporting the tavern and all that."

"Mister Bell does not know the way to a maiden's heart," she said after taking a small sip of her own ale. Only a little bit. She needed to keep her mind focused for the task at hand. "And Lilly doesn't like imposing like this. Here. Lilly will call it a night."

She placed a few val on the counter and stood up from her seat.

"You're leaving already?" he asked.

She gave him a flat stare, "Mister Bell should enjoy himself with that maid. He can't do that if Lilly stays here. Goodnight, Mister Bell."

"I… guess?" he sighed, dumbfounded.

Lilly couldn't help but roll her eyes for him to see.

"Thank you for today, Lilly," he said. "I wouldn't have been able to get so much without you. Will I be counting on you tomorrow as well?"

She shook her head, "No, I don't think so, Mister Bell. I don't think we'll ever see each other again."

"Huh…" he nodded with a sad look in his eyes. "Well… alright then. Take care. And thanks again!"

He extended his hand out to her. She glared at it, decided she could finish her charade, and shook his hand.

"Mister Bell is a very strange man," she said to him before gathering her things and leaving the tavern. She picked up her large sack by the side of the front entrance where other adventurer's gear was being kept in check.

Huddling her cloak close around her body, she headed out the door and started to run up the street.

She had done it!

That fool had lowered his guard with all the scorn directed at him. What an idiot! A few girls were giving him the stink-eye and he melts like butter.

He had placed the sword against the counter because it was too awkward keeping it in its holster as he sat. He hadn't noticed when Lilly took it under her cloak, not even when he shook her hand. She walked out with it cradled under one arm.

Now all she had to do was get it appraised by her regular, sell it, and get herself a new life.

It took no less than ten minutes for her to weave through the side streets and make her way to the black market shop. It was disguised as a rundown floral shop that went out of business with magic. Only when she entered did it reveal its true colors.

"Ah, Erde," said the gnome behind the counter. "What brings you here tonight?"

"Mister, mister!" she was practically bouncing on her feet. "Look what Lilly has brought for you today! It's a super amazing weapon that cut through killer ants like nothing!"

"I've seen a lot of weapons that can do that," he said while fixing his cap. "Alright. Let's see what you… What."

His tone made her blood freeze. She had pulled out Bell's sword from her robe and wasn't even done placing it on the counter when she felt something go wrong.

The gnome was looking at the weapon in absolute horror. All the color in his face had drained away as his eyes widened as large as saucers. Sweat poured down his brow.

His eyes flickered up towards the windows and to the back room. He even looked at the shadows of the shop.

"T-The Blade of Mercy. Where did you get this…?" he asked in a terrified voice. "No. Never mind that. Get out. Get out of here at once! Get out and never come back! Leave before he comes! GET OUT!"

Lilly shrieked as the gnome pulled out a sword from under the counter and started swinging wildly at it. She ducked under and began to crawl her way out of the shop. She slammed the door shut just in time to block the sword he had thrown. It would have impaled her if the door wasn't magically reinforced.

She held the sword, the Blade of Mercy, in her arms. She was shaking with fright.

That gnome was hardly afraid of anything. He dealt with the underworld on a regular basis. Questionable _familias,_ rogue adventurers, and mobs were nothing to him. He was just a merchant who traded with stolen goods.

He had forced her out of the shop. Though she couldn't tell on this side, she knew the gnome had bolted his door shut and sealed the windows. She could hear his muffled footsteps running around the shop within.

Now what?

She could try elsewhere. There were a few other shops and merchants she could try to strike a deal with. But they all ran within the same information circle. If this gnome recognized the sword and evicted her, they would likely do the same. She would have to go to the outskirts of town and try someone fresh.

Something in the back of her mind told her that wasn't very smart. Dealing with new clients was never favorable. The starting terms were always abusive. But that's not what bothered her.

She had a feeling in her gut that she would never be able to sell the sword. No one was going to buy them. They would all recognize it and treat her the same way the gnome had.

There was something wrong about this weapon. She could almost feel it as it rested in her arms.

Eventually, she began to move. She still huddled the sword in her arms as she moved out of the side street and onto the main road.

Bell zipped right past her in a maddened frenzy. His head whipped around, their eyes met, and he kept running forward out of sheer momentum. He slammed his heels onto the ground, tripped, and stumbled around.

"Lilly!" he shouted as soon as he stopped.

"M-Mister Bell!" she froze. She had been caught. If she had sold the blade by now she could have feigned ignorance. Instead she was caught with them in her arms. "T-This isn't what it looks like! Lilly was just…"

"I'm glad I caught up to you," he said while panting on the floor. He put a hand on his chest and took a few breaths of relief. "You must have picked those up by mistake. Did I put them by your bag on accident? I must have. I thought they were with me until Lyu said something about it."

She blinked with heavy disbelief.

"Mister Bell… you don't think Lilly stole this?" she found herself asking.

"What? No!" he blurted out as though he had insulted her. "I never would have thought that! I'm sure it was just an accident! You helped me out so much today so I would never suspect you of something like that!"

She just stared at him for a long moment.

"Mister Bell… you're too nice for your own good."

She said it as an insult. He took it as a compliment.

"That's what the goddess always says," he said as he stood and approached her. She had no choice but to hand the sword back. He placed it within the holster on the inside of his coat. "Thanks a lot Lilly. I don't know what I would have done if I lost them."

"…Them?" she asked. "Mister Bell, what exactly is that weapon?"

"It's called the Blade of Mercy," he answered with another one of his too cheerful smiles. "It was a gift from a very important friend of mine. It means the world to me."

It didn't answer her question.

"Sorry to hold you up like this, Lilly," he said, his smile shifting to something apologetic. "I better get back to the tavern before Mama Mia thinks I dined and dashed… again. Have a good night."

"…Yes, you too," she said. She almost considered renewing their contract. But…

It would be best to cut off all ties with Bell. It would be too dangerous to be seen with him. Rather, to be seen with that sword. Who knows what trouble she would get into if someone unsavory recognized the weapon?

She wondered if Bell knew about the sword any more than she did.

…No, she realized. He more than likely didn't.

Bell was just as thick in the head as he was nice.

And that's what's going to get him killed.

Lilly thought she made the wise decision in staying out of his life.

0-0-0

She had hoped she could have made her way to her secret safe house. But Fate was never kind to her. Fate had been cruel to her. Fate did more than not care about her; the celestial entity had gone out of its way to make Lilly's life a living hell.

The regular group of adventurers belonging to her _familia_ had been waiting for her. They knew she frequented this area and caught her by surprise. They surrounded her, pinned her to the ground, and took her things.

"Well, well," said their leader. He was an animal person with raccoon features. He shook the bag of val Bell had given her today. "Look, boys! We made a jackpot tonight! Thank you very much, Lilly. You've done us a kind service bringing what you owe."

The group cackled.

It took every ounce of her willpower to not scowl at them. If they took any suggestion she was angry at them then they would punish her. They would only beat them but… lately she was afraid they were growing bored of that. She was afraid they would do something… more to her body.

"Lilly was going to find you…" she said while still on the floor. She didn't dare to move.

Their leader frowned at her, "I'm sure you were. With just half of this treasure, I bet. This way we won't have to bother you for a while. Aren't you glad?"

He pressed his foot against the side of her head. Pressure threatened to crush her skull. Yet, all she could do was grit her teeth and bear through the pain.

"Now nobody will bother you, like usual," he said. "We give you a home and everything, Lilly. What do you say?"

She swallowed her pride and anger as she spoke through a cheery tone for their sake.

"Lilly is very grateful for adventurers. Lilly is so happy to be friends with them!"

"That's right," he said.

And then he kicked her across the face.

She saw white for a moment as her body flew back. She hadn't been on level ground. She fell halfway through a road staircase before slamming down and bouncing on its steps. She rolled with it, tucking her arms in and making sure she didn't land against the terrain else crack open her head or land crooked. It only lasted a few seconds but it felt like hours until she finally rolled onto the bottom floor.

The adventurers above laughed and made joked at her. Their laughter could be heard throughout the night until they were gone.

Lilly remained on the floor with one arm over her eyes. She refused to cry. She lacked the ability to cry.

This wasn't the first time they had done something like this. It wasn't even the tenth time. And it wasn't going to be the last time.

She refused to cry because she swallowed all of her hate to store it for later. She despised them. She wanted to break ties from her _familia_ but only if she could get the val to buy her way out. If she paid off all her debts then—

Who was she kidding? She was insurance to them. She was a comfortable means of getting money. They weren't going to let someone like her go free.

"What disgusting vermin those pigs are…"

She nearly shot up. She didn't know anyone else was around. She didn't hear them approach until one of them spoke.

There were two of them. One was dressed in a long black cloak with a wide-brimmed hat and a scarf. He was a middle-aged man with graying hair and bandages over his eyes.

The other was a man dressed in a faded yellow jacket of similar fashion to Bell's. He had a high collar, a tri-horned hat, and leather garments. The only thing visible about him were his eyes. He kept to the wall with his arms crossed.

The man in black extended his hand for Lilly.

She didn't take it. She was cautious as she got to her feet and took a few steps back.

The man didn't seem insulted. He shook his head instead as he pulled his hand back. When he spoke, she saw the flash of sharpened teeth. They resembled the teeth found on a dog or wolf person.

"Beasts, the lot of them. I'd kill them now if I could. Perhaps then would you be free from their abuse."

"…Who are you?" she asked as she slowly stepped back. She only asked to stall time. She didn't know them and her instincts were telling her they were extremely dangerous. They might be higher-tier adventurers with the amount of bloodlust radiating off of them. She needed to get out of here.

"We saw you earlier today," said the man in yellow. "And last night, for that matter. We know who you are, Lilliluka Erde of _Soma Familia._ "

His answer made her freeze. They knew who she was. So even if she ran they would find a way to find her.

"Now, now," said the man in black to his partner. "There's no need for any of that. This is a lady in trouble. I am obligated to ease her suffering."

"…Priests," sneered the man halfheartedly. He rolled his shoulders without releasing his arms around his chest. "Have it your way. Just get on with it."

"I am sorry for startling you, little missy," the black one said as he tipped his hat slightly. "The name's Gascoigne. That there is Hendryk. We happen to be… friends of the Good Hunter you were escorting today. We have a favor to ask of you."

"…Mister Bell?" she asked.

She knew it. It had been wise to sever ties with him. But… she wished she had been quicker on it. She wished she hadn't decided to search for him this morning. If only she had last seen him in the alleyway after cutting off ties with her previous contractor. Now she had gotten herself mixed up with something she had wanted to avoid.

"The very same," said Gascoigne. "You see, we only wish to talk to him. Would you do us the kindness of assisting us? In exchange, we'd like to remove you of your worries."

"All of them," the yellow one, Hendryk, said. He reached into his coat for something before tossing it at Lilly's feet.

…To call it a magic stone did it no justice. It was a magic _rock._ It was a chunk of purple stone that shimmered with power under the moonlight. It was almost as large as her head. Something this size would take a raid team of Level Three—no, Level Four adventurers.

"Half now," Hendryk said as he flashed another magic rock from the inside of his pocket. "The other half afterwards. And… we'll make sure those from your _familia_ never bother you again."

Lilly was lost for words. She stared at the rock at her feet. If she went directly to the Guild she could get one million, maybe two, val by trading it in. With her connections in the underground, she could possibly get more out of it.

And they were offering to give her another one.

"…What can Lilly do to help?" she asked.


	8. Chapter 8

"Mister Bell. Lilly was thinking we go down to the tenth floor today."

"I was thinking the same thing! But I don't know anything about the floor. Do you think we should investigate before jumping in?"

"Lilly has been down there before. Lilly will escort you."

"Ah, thank you Lilly! I wouldn't know what I would do without you…"

He didn't stop to question why he was with her today. He was sure she told him they wouldn't meet up again. But here she was. And they were going down into the Dungeon together with such familiarity of each other's presence it was as though they have done it hundreds of times.

In the next instance, they had reached the tenth floor of the Dungeon. He couldn't remember going through the previous floors or hunting any monsters. The back of his mind assured him there were a few scuffled on their way and there was nothing for him to worry about.

The Dungeon floor opened into a vast area. It more resembled a dried up canyon with cliffs, ravines, forests of dead trees, and valleys for as far as he could see. There were no winding corridors or a straight path to the next floor this time. He would have to venture around until he found where he needed to go.

…Or buy a map the next time he was topside.

"Mister Bell," Lilly went to the edge of the cliff and pointed at something down below. "Look! There's something shiny down there! Lilly thinks it might be treasure!"

"Treasure?!" he jumped in place with excitement as he dashed to her side. He leaned over to peer over the cliff, squinting his eyes to try to see the bottom. "Um… Lilly, are you sure there's something—"

He felt the bottom of her boot kick his knees in. He fell forward, trying to twist his body to reach for the edge of the cliff. But his hand slipped as his fingers grazed the edge. He went tumbling down, hitting the uneven slope of the cliff and slamming onto a few dead trees that were sprouting off its side.

The straight fall would have killed him if he didn't bounce around on his way down. Still, the impact at the bottom floor knocked the wind out of him and made his vision blur.

He heard laughter from above. But it wasn't the sound of Lilly's light voice. Her head bucked back with laughter. Her clothes ripped with eight black appendages appearing out of her back. Her human limbs hung dead as the legs of a spider lifted her body up. Her hair fell off like a wig.

And she continued to laugh down at him as she clung to the wall of the cliff.

"Don't dally, you lucky scamp!" said not Lilly, but Patches the Spider. "The gift of the godhead commeth!"

Beasts and Kin started to surround Bell. They came from the dark corners of the ravine, from the cracks of the ground, and descending down the wall like Patches. Bell was trapped.

He reached into his coat for the Blade of Mercy.

…But instead he found something abnormally squishy.

It was the lunch Syr had made him this morning. They were a pair of steamed meat buns.

So… if his lunch was where his weapon was supposed to be…

Where did he misplace the Blade of Mercy?!

Eileen was going to kill him!

…And it was from that thought did he wake up from his dream.

Bell wasn't in the Dungeon down in the tenth floor. He was lying flat on the couch in the secret room of the church. The pillow and blanket had been tossed off at some point.

It was all just a really bad dream, he realized. It explained why he met up with Lilly without an explanation and why he was able to get through the Dungeon so quickly. Dream physics; that's all it was! And, look, the Blade of Mercy was resting against his gear in the corner of the room.

Eileen wasn't going to have his head after all! He was safe!

…So why did it feel like he was still holding onto the lunch Syr gave him?

His hand was cupped around something just like a meat bun. It was as soft as a pillow with a smooth, elastic texture to it. It was also large enough for his whole hand to sink into it. If Syr had made him something like this… he wasn't sure if he could finish it all.

He looked down at what he was grasping.

All the blood drained away from his face.

Once again the goddess Hestia had climbed onto the sofa and slept with him. She had her back to him while she curled herself up against his side. Her face was a little red while she was mumbling something in her sleep. She had a wide smile with a bit of drool slipping through her lips.

In his dream, he had reached for his weapon. In actuality, he had slipped his hand around his goddess' arms, through the nape of her nightgown, and inserted his hand within. His hand was squeezing her left boob from under the material.

His hand squeezed a few more times before his mind caught up with what he was doing.

All the blood that had drained away rushed back to his head fast enough to make the room spin. He was _groping_ his goddess while she slept!

It was like a dream come true. He had always wanted to do this but…

"EEEEIIIIIIIIIII!"

But his fourteen-year-old libido didn't know how to handle this amount of excitement.

There was some running around in circles and rolling around on the floor, and in the next instant Bell found himself huddled in the corner with the blanket over his head as he muttered apologies to his goddess in earnest. He was on the verge of tears. He had done something so indecent to his goddess while she was defenseless. What will she think of him?!

"Bell… I'm telling you it's fine," she told him for the third time while she patted his back. It made him sob a little harder. "Honestly… I wouldn't have minded if you went a little further…"

Now he was crying because of his goddess' mercy. She was forgiving him for his indecency. And now she was going as far as to say she was _okay_ with it?! She was too kind. Far too kind. He had done something wrong to her and she was treating it as nothing.

"I'm sorry, goddess," he shook under the blanket. "You didn't deserve that. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

He heard her sigh. She wrapped her arms around him and pressed herself against his back. He felt her breasts push against him. It sent electricity through his spine as his hand twitched by reaction. The impression was still fresh on his mind. He could still recall how soft it was.

"It's okay, Bell," she said in a soft voice. "I was the one who snuck in with you. It's my fault. Just come out of there, please?"

He shuddered once more before nodding. He poked his head out of the blanket and turned to face her. They remained on the floor as they exchanged glances. She smiled at him while he couldn't meet her eyes. His face was still burning hot.

"Goddess…" he started slowly, "what were you doing there? Was I tossing around again?"

"Not as much as the last few times," she answered. She had a nervous smile as she looked away. She fiddled with her fingers. "I… just thought, you know, maybe you wouldn't have any nightmares if I joined you instead of waiting? Yeah, that's it! You seemed to have slept much better, Bell. But you also seemed to have another bad dream…"

She frowned at that. It made his heart sway seeing his goddess be so distressed over him.

"N-Not really," he answered. "I, um, was just having a dream about the Dungeon. I forgot my weapon and was surrounded by monsters. I was afraid Eileen would be mad at me for forgetting them."

It was mostly the truth. He dreamed about Lilly betraying him—or, rather, she being Patches all along. But what really woke him in fright was the potential of Eileen being furious with him.

His goddess eyed him for a moment before deciding he was being truthful. Or, she couldn't find anything to argue against him. Instead, her attention made its way to his pile of equipment. Her eyes fell upon the Blade of Mercy.

"Bell… I know you told me that was a spare but…" she struggled to find the right way to explain her worries. "Are you sure it's safe to lug those around everywhere? What if another _familia_ sees you with them? Someone who has something against the Crow?"

He had an answer for that. He opened his mouth to answer.

But something cold made him realize how… callous the answer was.

Instead, he chose to say something else.

"I think it would be safer to have them with me," he said in a clear voice. His eyes met hers for this instance. "Lady Maria is still out there. And I'm worried she'll come after me again. And you, goddess. I need the Blade of Mercy to protect you. The purpose of the Blade… was to Hunt other Hunters."

"You should let the Guild worry about that," she waved it off. "There's a bounty on her head. Let some of the stronger and more experienced adventurers worry about her. Bell, I know you're growing _really_ fast, but you're still a newbie."

He bowed his head at that. He should just tell her about the Hunter's Dream. But… would she believe him? The event was all just a dream, after all. She might chalk it off as a fantasy. She believed his recent growth in power had come from the Dungeon.

"…I don't understand how you know about the Crow, Bell," his goddess said suddenly. "I don't know how you made friends with such a dangerous person. But that weapon means a lot to you, doesn't it?"

She didn't approve of his selfishness. She was worried about him and it resonated through her voice. She wanted to understand everything about him and was on the verge of strangling him to find out. But she was also holding herself back for his sake.

"She gave them to me," he answered. "I can't just throw them away or stow them. She gave them to me with the intention of me using them."

Hestia was quiet for a while. She crossed her arms while biting on her lower lip. Her brows scrunched with thought.

She looked irritated at him when next she spoke.

"Bell, you must _never_ show that weapon in public. Keep it under that jacket at all times. We have the money so go buy a spare weapon before going into the Dungeon. Use those only. _Only_ use the Blade of Mercy in the case of an emergency. Do you understand? Do not let _anybody_ see you use that weapon. I mean it!"

He blinked at that.

"C-Can I really?" he asked while leaning forward. "You mean I can keep them?!"

She glared at him while poking at his chest, "I mean it, Bell. I'm not entirely okay with this. But if you're so serious about keeping that weapon then you need to be responsible with them. Plus… I'm not sure whether to be more afraid of another _familia_ or the Crow herself. I believe in you, Bell. I know you'll be able to take care of yourself. Just… please listen to me about this."

He nodded vigorously. "Yes, goddess! I'll take very good care to listen to your advice! Thank you very much!"

She leaned away from him and let out a weary sigh.

It was a shame, though. Someone had already seen him use the weapon before. Lilly, his temporary Supporter for the one day, had seen them. He had determined from her reaction last night she didn't recognize them. But… she had tried to steal them when he wasn't looking.

 _"Mister Bell, you don't think Lilly stole this?"_

He knew but didn't have the heart to accuse her of it. Less than two months ago in the Waking World, he was nothing more than a naïve farmer trying to become an adventurer. He spent some time in Orario getting swindled left and right as many took advantage of him…

…Like Syr…

BUT! But, his time in the Hunter's Dream changed him immensely. Beasts weren't the only things he had to worry about. He had to worry about his fellow Hunters. Some went crazy during the Hunt. Others pretended to be his friends all along until they stabbed him in the back.

…Or kicked him off a cliff and into a poisonous river.

Perhaps that was why he had a dream of Patches impersonating Lilly. Bell was always aware Lilly had some sort of hidden agenda but couldn't determine what it was. He did believe in her, though. He watched her from a distance while they worked together. She didn't betray him until he lowered his guard and she took the Blade of Mercy.

Still, he couldn't fully blame her for it. He blamed himself more so. She wasn't like Patches… least not entirely. She didn't betray him with the intention of his body slowly decaying by acid. No one was hurt. It was why he chose to let her go rather than try to make her answer for it.

"You should go now before it gets any later," Hestia told him. "Stop by the Guild and lease a weapon until we get you something better."

"I do need to speak with Eina anyways…" he muttered.

Her eyes flashed as her glare intensified. It felt like staring into the eyes of a Kin.

"I… I need to see if there are any Supporters available," he threw out reason as though it were an excuse. He didn't know why the look she gave him made him break into a cold sweat.

"…Just that?" she asked with her eyes narrowing. "And nothing else?"

"…Nothing that needs to be talked about," was all he could say. He was afraid of her reaction and chose to respond in a neutral tone.

"Then I have nothing to worry about," she perked up instantly. She lifted her chin and puffed out her chest while her hands rested on her hips. She even laughed to herself. "Go and take care of business then. I'm going to be spending today looking for a new love nest for the two of us."

"L-Love nest…" he laughed quietly, taking it as a joke. He wished his goddess wouldn't tease him about stuff like this. He knew it was just the two of them but he sometimes wished she wouldn't use terms like that. It hurt his pride as a man.

The first few jokes made him blush and become excited—that someone like the goddess Hestia tickled his fantasies. Now, they made him sulk. He wished he could have called this place their love nest. But, they were goddess and adventurer.

The furthest he'd be able to get with her was the accidental boob action like a few minutes ago.

But he still hoped that, one day, he could get just a little closer to his goddess. And, just maybe, these fantasies could become a reality.

He hoped and dreamed for that day to come.

"Then, I'm going to get ready and be off soon," he announced as he stood.

0-0-0

"Good morning, Syr," he greeted the ashen-haired girl this morning as well.

"Good morning, Bell," she greeted back with a smile full of sunshine. It didn't hold any malice from last night. Did that mean she forgave him? He couldn't tell with her. "I've been waiting for you. Another full day in the Dungeon?"

She _had_ been waiting for him. She pulled the wrapped box from the porch railing and handed it to him.

"Um… t-thank you," he said while putting the lunch away in his bag. "I'll probably be staying in the upper floors again. My hand's feeling better but I want to make sure. I also need to get a spare weapon from the Guild before I do anything serious."

She raised a brow at that, looked around in search for something, and then waved at him to approach her. He did, blushing at how close they were. She put a hand up towards her lips as she whispered to him.

"You didn't lose your sword again, did you? Lyu is going to be upset with you if you did. She was mad last night when that prum stole them under your nose. She wouldn't stop telling us how irresponsible you were."

His smile froze on his face. He _really_ hoped Lyu didn't run off to tell Eileen that. He ran out of the tavern last night and got his Blade back. There wasn't any reason to tell Eileen! Right?!

"N-No," he told her softly in a shaky voice. "I still have them. But I just figured it would be nice to have a spare for, uh, just in case?"

She nodded at that reply, "That's what I've heard from other adventurers. I've heard them mention about having backups just in case something breaks. Or if a certain type of weapon doesn't work on a specific monster. Look at you, Bell. You're really starting to become a real adventurer."

He wasn't sure whether to take it as a compliment or an insult. He _was_ a real adventurer. A newbie, sure, but come on!

They both felt the stare of Mama Mia from within the Benevolent Mistress. The tavern keep welcomed Bell and allowed Syr to converse with him while she was on duty, but they were pressing her by extending their conversation this long.

"I should get back to work," Syr stated with a much more calm appearance than he was. He was practically shaking in his boots. "We still need to take the tables to the front for the café shift. Good luck today, Bell. Oh, and I love the coat. You look… dashing."

Her cheeks were red as she said this. He hardly noticed. Her compliment had made his own face redden as he looked away abashed.

They waved each other off and he went back to his morning jog towards the Dungeon. He promised himself to return afterwards to hand her back the lunchbox within. And to only talk a little bit. He couldn't afford to support the Benevolent Mistress on a daily basis, no matter how much money he and his goddess had at the moment.

He kept running until he was around the corner from the Guild. A lot of adventurers were on their way to Babel Tower but not as many as there had been yesterday morning. The morning rush was starting to die down.

Yet the Guild still looked crowded. He wondered how long he would have to wait before he could get Eina to meet him.

"Good Hunter."

He felt someone tug on the back of his coat. It made the blood in his veins freeze. The voice was so soft and so quiet he almost missed it. It also felt… distant. Like someone talking while daydreaming.

He knew this voice.

He turned slowly, eyes widened with shock and wariness.

The one to have spoken was the Doll.

She was everything he remembered. Her porcelain skin was unflinching, forever frozen in a tranquil expression of utmost beauty. Her skin was inhumanly pale with paints used to add coloration to her cheeks and eyeshadow. Her hair was a platinum blonde, nearly ashen white, and her eyes were pale colorless orbs.

She was dressed in the same attire as when found in the Hunter's Workshop. She wore the maroon and crimson maiden's dress with fingerless gloves, a bonnet over her head, a long skirt with riding boots, and a shroud over her shoulders.

She looked at him with her forever frozen expression.

She took a step back just enough to fold her hands at her front and give a bow from the waist.

He found himself bowing in similar fashion, if not to simply be polite.

But his mind was racing. How could she be here? She could only exist in the Dream. She wasn't real. She wasn't supposed to be real. She was a _doll_ given life through the Hunter's Dream. He even found her _real_ physical body in Yharnam, as lifeless as it should be like any other inanimate object.

"Hello, Good Hunter," she said as soon as she stood straight. "I thought I may find you here if I waited long enough. I have something I believe you dropped."

She reached into the inside of her shroud and pulled out a sheathed combat knife. She held it out for him to accept with both hands outstretched.

As soon as his fingers touched it, he felt the jolt of _power_ course through it. It was familiar. It resonated through him because it was his everything. When his fingers coiled around the hilt, he felt the knife stir as though it had been lulled out of a nap. He felt it acknowledge him and slowly rise out of its slumber.

When he pulled the knife out of its sheath, he saw the hundreds of runes transcribed on its edge. But they were not magic runes as they once were.

They were Caryll Runes, written inscriptions of the Great Ones' eldritch truth.

It was the Hestia Knife. But… the runes lit up red instead of blue. As red as blood. And there was no longer the divine presence of his goddess within the blade. There now existed…

…The Doll's.

"Gehrman worked hard to repair it," the Doll explained in her monotone voice. "The Little Ones worked hard to retrieve what was lost. But not everything could be recovered. We had to replace what could not be retrieved. It may not resemble the weapon you once wielded. It may be something new with how much was used to repair it.

"We have decided to call it Oedon Knife. I know you will give it a home, Good Hunter."

It wasn't the Hestia Knife any longer. The runes had been replaced with Caryll inscription. And the divine presence had been replaced with the Doll's. It might as well be an entirely new weapon altogether.

He wasn't sure whether to thank her or be disappointed. The Hestia Knife had been a gift of his goddess, given unceremoniously but out of good intentions nonetheless. The Knife had been made for _him_ and him alone.

"How are you here?" he found himself asking.

The Doll stepped close to him. He almost shirked away by the sheer inhuman presence she gave away. Rather, she lacked all manner of presence. She didn't have the warmth of another human being nor the overwhelming magnificence of a god. She lacked what it meant to be alive and it was this void that made him wary of her.

She reached up and placed her hands around his.

"Good Hunter…" she spoke softly in the same tone as she did everything else. And, yet, it felt as though something deep within her core shifted when she spoke. "Your presence is still as soothing as I remember. I felt it and followed it here into the Waking World. This feeling to want to stay near this presence… would you not say that this is love?"

"B-B-Bwah?!" he sputtered as his face heated in a flash.

They were getting an assortment of odd looks as adventurers and Supporters made their way to either the Guild or the Dungeon. No one stopped to observe them. Some snickered or cursed at their morning scene as though it were a conversation between a pair of lovers. Some had been able to take note of the Doll's inhuman presence as well as the exposed joints on her hands. But, still, no one second-guessed anything and continued on their way.

"It is, is it not?" the Doll tilted her head to mimic the human expression of innocent confusion. "Love. To want the good of another? If it is so, then I cannot think to love anyone more than I would you, Good Hunter."

He didn't notice it. Where their hands touched, a faint glow of red pulsed. The Caryll Runes on the Oedon Knife started to come alive as it resonated with the presence of Bell and the Doll.

The Doll was manipulating the Blood Echoes Bell had accumulated since last they met.

"L-L-L-Love?!" he blurted out. "That's not how it works! A-And, um, that is…"

"…Mister Bell?"

The Doll's expression remained the same. It was physically impossible for her face to move a twitch. Yet, Bell saw something dangerous flash through her eyes. The Doll took a step back and regarded the one who interrupted her.

Bell and Lilly exchanged a look for a moment.

"Lilly!" he said with heavy relief. "I'm so glad to see you!"

Lilly stared at him a little longer before glancing at the Doll. She blinked a few times while taking in the sights of the living mannequin. Her face contorted as she wanted to ask a million questions… but decided to go back to Bell instead.

"Is Lilly interrupting something? Lilly was only curious if Mister Bell had found another Supporter by any chance."

"Is that so…?" Bell said while scratching his cheek. "Um… No, I haven't. I was on my way to the Guild to see if my sponsor found anyone."

"Then will Mister Bell like to hire Lilly again today?!" she blurted with a beaming smile while clasping her hands together in a pleading gesture.

"I will be off," said the Doll in her simple tone. "Farewell, Good Hunter. May you find your worth in the Waking World."

"Hey, wait a sec!" he swiveled his head around as soon as the Doll turned to leave.

She slipped through the crowds at a slow pace. One adventure walked around her, cutting off Bell's view of her for just a second. And, in the next instance, she had vanished.

"…Mister Bell? Who… or… what was that? Lilly doesn't think she was… alive. Is she run by magic stones or something?"

Magic stones were the universal power source most of the world used. They were used as currency just as much as val were. But carrying a rock that weighed an arm and leg was harder than carrying a single gold piece it was worth. In any case, magic stones were used to power the entire city of Orario.

So to speak, it wasn't out of the question someone intelligent enough could create an animatronic doll being powered by magic stones. But it was something else to have that doll being able to speak as a living person would.

It was one of those things Lilly leaned on with heavy skepticism but would accept it if Bell told her it was true. It was the only logical conclusion she could come up with.

Bell read into this. People tended to panic when faced against the unknown or inhumane. Such was the result of the Beast Scourge.

"S-Something like that," he offered. "But, Lilly, what's this about hiring you again? I thought you said we wouldn't see each other again…"

He could see the amount of questions she had for him. But her eyes perked up at his inquiry and instead jumped into the conversation. "Something came up and Lilly is a free Supporter once again. Lilly was hoping Mister Bell would hire her again! Lilly is willing to use the same rates as yesterday without the need of contract. Plus it will give Mister Bell more time to find a longer-lasting Supporter."

"So this is still a one-day deal?" he asked with his shoulders slouching.

"Yep," she nodded. "This will be the last day for sure. But Lilly promises to work her hardest!"

He didn't say anything for a long while. He tucked the Oedon Knife away into the spare holster at his belt before crossing his arms. He thought quietly to himself.

"…Does Mister Bell not want to work with Lilly?" she asked with her hands clutching the straps of her enormous bag. Her head bowed down slightly as she stared up at him through her bangs.

"N-No!" he shook his head a few times. "It's nothing like that! I… Okay, yeah, sure. Please take good care of me again, Lilly."

He extended his hand for her.

Her smile was almost sad as she took it.

"Lilly promises."

0-0-0

"Mister Bell. Lilly was thinking we go down to the tenth floor today."

"I was thinking the same thing! But I don't know anything about the floor. Do you think we should investigate before jumping in?"

"Lilly has been down there before. Lilly will escort you."

"Ah, thank you Lilly! I wouldn't know what I would do without—"

He stopped himself from finishing the sentence. His brows scrunched together.

"…Mister Bell?" Lilly looked up at him with her large, childish eyes.

"Sorry," he said while shifting his own bag on his back. "Say, Lilly, didn't we have this conversation before?"

"Lilly isn't sure what Mister Bell is talking about," she replied back. "This is only our second time together. Lilly doesn't remember bringing it up yesterday."

"I guess it's just me…" he more so mumbled to himself as they pressed forward.

It took them almost an hour to get from the seventh floor to the tenth. They met a few monsters on the way—all of which Bell took out swiftly and Lilly gathered their remains. She even found a few drop items. Lilly knew which way to go and directed him to the quickest path to the tenth floor.

He stopped in his tracks a few steps after exiting the tunnel leading into the tenth floor. An uneasy feeling swam through his stomach.

They were standing on the top of a cliff overlooking a large canyon. The land was dead as far as the eye could see with petrified trees here and there, ravines that created mazes, and plains of dried land. He could make out the vague figures of monsters in the distance.

"Mister Bell, look!" Lilly was at the edge of the cliff. She was pointing at something down below. "Our luck is amazing! Lilly sees the floor treasure chest from here! Come take a… Mister Bell?"

Slowly, carefully, almost as though he were about to wake up a slumbering dragon, he undid the strap of his bag and brought it around to his front. He pulled back the flap, pulled out Syr's lunch, and gradually undid the knot.

"…Did Mister Bell not have breakfast? It's a little early for lunch. We should eat later before another adventurer comes and takes the treasure—"

"Lilly," he said suddenly.

…Because Syr had packed him two pairs of meat buns for lunch.

"This might sound strange," he said to her in a flat tone. "But I might be dreaming. You wouldn't happen to be a spider with a bald head, would you?"

Lilly just stared at him, so completely lost from his question she couldn't form a single word.

It was the look on her face that convinced him of how silly he was being.

"I… It was just a joke," he said while packing his lunch back up and putting it back in his bag. "See, I had this really bad dream last night where… Never mind. What was that about treasure?"

He went to stand at her side. However, he made sure to keep her in his peripheral vision. He didn't think Lilly would try something like kicking him off the cliff. But it was a feeling from his gut that told him to be wary around her. She was acting differently from yesterday. Something was up and he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

But…

"Huh, there really is a chest down there…" he commented.

"See?!" she swiveled her head around with eyes sparkling like stars. "Lilly was telling the truth! We better hurry, Mister Bell, before another adventurer finds them. The stairs are this way—"

There was a bellowing roar of thunder and a flash of light from down below. The wind howled in a high-pitch whistle. Time slowed down as he recognized the sound of the foreign artifact.

It wasn't a magic spell or weapon.

It was something that belonged in the Dream.

Before he could shout a warning, something heavy crashed onto the side of the cliff a few meders below their feet. Dirt flew up from the impact and the ground shook.

Large cracks appeared below their feet as the ground began to fall apart. The side of the cliff was collapsing and bringing them down with it. The impact had created a rockslide.

"LILLY!" he shouted as he grabbed her bag. She was about to fall in with him. Pure adrenaline drove him as soon as he saw the horrified expression on her face.

With all of his strength, he pulled her back. Her and her heavy bag flew back by his strength. But in doing so, he had pulled himself towards the slope of the rockslide. He could have escaped if he leapt away. But he would have sacrificed Lilly to do so.

So down he went, falling at first with nothing to grab onto and then rolling down with the dirt and chunks of rock. He had no control over his fall as the dirt moved like a raging river. He could only roll with it while tucking his arms over his head to cushion any impact. He lost count on how many times he struck something hard while coming down.

The collision with the ground knocked the wind out of him and he almost inhaled a cloud of dirt if he wasn't already preparing his next step. He fell faster than the cliff itself. There was still a small hill of dirt and rock coming down on top of him.

He _Quickened_ forward, using the technique twice without fully thinking. He could only guess which direction he was going as his sense of direction was still lost to him from the constant tumbling. He could only hope to get away from the rockslide and not towards it… or run into something that will have him trip.

He made it, narrowly sidestepping a few boulders that would have crushed him if he didn't move fast enough. He couldn't see ahead as the whole ravine was covered in a thick fog of dirt. He could barely breathe and had to use the sleeve of his coat to cover his mouth. He had to get out of here.

"Just as agile as any other beast, Good Hunter," snarled a deep voice from the ravine he was trapped under. "Quick on his feet. Perceptive and sharp with instinct. And stained with… so much blood."

He heard the crunching of footsteps but he couldn't tell from which direction. Bell kept running forward, trying to get out of the plume of dirt that was suffocating him. He couldn't even tell if he was running up the ravine or about to run straight into one of its walls.

"I had warned you," said the voice. "You would become one of them eventually. But never did I think you'd become the worst. I've never seen a beast quite like you."

He broke through the cloud, coughing and gasping for fresh air. He was covered from head to toe with dirt. But he was fine. A little sore from the fall down but nothing was broken. His bag was a little torn yet all his gear was still intact.

…He had also ran straight into the one who took out the cliff.

It was a middle-aged man with a wild mane of gray hair. He was dressed in a black priest's cloak with a faded white scarf and a wide-brim hat. Bandages covered his eyes while he had a sneer full of sharpened teeth.

He tossed the large cylindrical canister, the Church Cannon, aside. Its ammo was empty after the first shot. From his cloak he pulled out his weapons.

In his right hand was the Hunter's Axe, a Trick Weapon that could change the length of the staff from a one-handed axe to a two-handed. And in his left was the Hunter's Blunderbuss, a firearm that shattered Quicksilver Bullets into small pellets in a grapeshot volley.

He knew this man. Bell froze as yet another Hunter he had killed in Yharnam was alive yet again. And this Hunter had followed him into Orario. He should have known there were more of them after seeing Maria. The appearance of the Doll today should have cemented it.

"Hello, Good Hunter," the man said with nothing but ferocity in his voice. "Today, Father Gascoigne joins the Hunt!"

Gascoigne let out a beastly howl no human could make on their own as he rushed forward.

0-0-0

Lilly kept walking forward. She refused to look back. She refused to look down to see if Bell had survived the fall. She couldn't afford to suffer any amount of guilt for what she's done.

They said all they wanted to do was talk. She scoffed at that. She knew better and expected them to rough up the boy. Maybe even kill him. But the pay was worth it. She could escape her _familia_ and start a new life outside the city. No one would be able to harass her again. She could live comfortably elsewhere, maybe open up a shop if she wanted.

She didn't expect Gascoigne to get her caught up in the trap, however. She was supposed to lure Bell into the ravine where the man would ambush Bell. Henryk would stand guard at the tunnel connecting the ninth and tenth floor to make sure Bell didn't escape. It was a simply enough plan.

…She didn't expect Bell to save her, though.

Really, that boy was too nice for his own good. He wouldn't be in this mess if he got out of the way. Instead, he may have sacrificed himself so she wouldn't fall in with him.

It took a bit of effort on her part to swallow the guilt. She could mourn for him after her business was concluded and she was out of the city. She would have all the time in the world for it.

However, she couldn't help but look over her shoulder one last time as she treaded forward. Just one last look to calm her nerves before all of this was over.

It was because she wasn't looking forward did her toe kick something and she tripped. She almost landed flat on her face if she didn't throw her arms out on reflex. But the oversized bag on her back nearly crushed her.

"Well, well, Erde," said the last voice she wanted to hear. "What brings you all the way out here to the tenth floor?"

There was a round of chuckles as the raccoon-man kicked her side to flip her over. She let out a yelp of pain as she clutched her ribs. She screamed as someone grabbed her hair and hefted her off her feet. Another person pulled the bag out from her arms and another seized her hands from grabbing any of her weapons.

There were four of them. They were the usual bunch who harassed her on a weekly basis. They were nothing more than a bunch of drunkards who had gone into a frenzy over the _Soma Familia's_ miracle wine. They had taken a sipped, enjoyed it too much, and sought to gather the funds to create more of their god's liquor.

…By any means necessary.

Wait… the fourth adventurer wasn't a part of the group. That was the muramasa wielder she had cut ties with the other night. What was he doing here?

And where was the original fourth member?

"I gave you your val!" she spat as one pulled her arms behind her back and bound them together with rope. "You said you would leave me alone!"

"Yeah… about that…" the raccoon-person, the leader of this group, squatted down with a sneer of a smile. "We were talking about it last night. You got quite a bit of val yesterday but you weren't heading straight home. You were heading elsewhere when we found you. Either you were about to spend it… or you have a secret stash elsewhere that we don't know about."

Lilly glared up at him, refusing to let anything slip. "Lilly doesn't know what you're—"

He brought his hand across her face.

"I ain't asking, Erde," he said in a low growl.

"H-Hey! Those're Lilly's things!" she shouted as she saw what was happening.

They were rummaging through her bag while she was being held down. They were pulling out all of her equipment and items. Some were put aside to be sold later or used for themselves while others were tossed aside as useless junk.

The raccoon-man gripped her face and forced her to look at him, "Don't make this any harder than it already is, Erde. Just give us what we want and we'll be on our way."

"Lilliruka, is Good Hunter Cranel where we discussed?"

The room became silent as all heads whipped around. Henryk appeared around the corner in his faded yellow garments. He had a narrow cylindrical item in one hand, resting against his shoulder, while he had his hand resting on the grip of his makeshift saw. His eyes were locked on Lilly's while he ignored everyone else.

"M-Mister Henryk!" Lilly gasped. A flash of hope surged through her. "Lilly did her job! Please help Lilly! You promised!"

"Hah?!" said one of the Nameless members. "Don't think about it, buddy. There're four of us and—"

Henryk reached from inside his coat, pulled a smaller cylindrical item of similar make to the one in his offhand, and pointed its end at the man. He pulled the trigger at the grip.

There was a loud crack that hurt their ears along with a flash of light. It was a magic item, Lilly realized. A very devastating one she had never seen before.

The Nameless Soma Member's head whipped back as the back of his skull blew open. His blood splattered against the wall as his body slid along it until it fell to the floor.

Nobody dared to move as Henryk put his weapon back inside the lining of his coat.

"I remember," he said to Lilly. "I make do with my promises."

From inside his pocket, he pulled the chunk of magic stone and tossed it inches from where she knelt.

He made no gesture to save her. He tipped his hat in gratitude for what she's done and began to turn away.

"W-Wait…" she called out in a weak and shaky voice. "Wait. Please, Mister Henryk. Wait! You promised! You said you'd save me!"

He stopped, if only to turn his head to peer at her from over his shoulder. "I only recall promising to pay you. It was Gascoigne who promised to kill them. Ask him again once the Good Hunter has been dealt with."

"WAIT!" she screamed as she fell forward. She almost crawled to him like a worm. "Wait! Come back! Please! Mister Henryk, PLEASE—"

"WE'RE RICH, BOYS!" cried the leader of the group as he picked up the magic chunk from the floor and raised it over his heads. He cheered as though the death of his comrade hadn't fazed through him.

The glee of it all only lasted a few short seconds. His greed couldn't be satisfied with something like this. His attention went back to Lilly before she could crawl any further away.

He put his boot against her back and stopped her from moving any forward.

"Now, Lilly, what other secrets have you been keeping from us?"

0-0-0

 _"Who… are you? I don't know your voice. But I know that smell. Are you a Hunter?"_

 _"A-Ah, yes!" he blurted out. Bell approached the dimly lit window. He could smell the incense that burned through all of the Yharnam streets. It would ward off the beasts while the men roamed around for the Hunt._

 _It was only by chance he found this particular window. The house it was connected to was barricaded and the gate leading to the walkway the window viewed was locked. It was only because he fell into the sewers and searched desperately for a way out did he stumble upon this walkway._

 _But now that he was here… where was he supposed to go?_

 _What he found here was the voice of a little girl calling from the window. He couldn't see her face as the window was covered by a panel. He could only see the faint silhouette of the girl from within._

 _She gasped as she spoke in a voice full of desperation, "Will you please look for my mum and dad? Daddy never came back from the Hunt and she went to find him. Now she's gone too. I'm all alone and scared…"_

 _How could he say no? He had barely stepped foot in this madness called the Hunt. The wrongness of it all was still fresh in his mind. Slaying the Cleric Beast, the first real beast he had come across, still frazzled him._

 _And here was this girl, all alone. Her mother and father were out there, somewhere._

 _Was the father just as deranged and mad as the civilians of the city? Or was he… a Hunter like Eileen or Gascoigne?_

 _"Of course!" he said without a moment's hesitation._

 _"Really?" the little girl sounded excited and hopeful. "Oh thank you!"_

 _"Eh… actually… how do I find them?" he asked. He had nothing to go off of. "Do you know where they went or what they might look like? I could ask if anyone else has seen them."_

 _"Oh…" the girl paused for a second. "My mum wears a red brooch. It's so big and… beautiful! You won't miss it."_

 _He scratched his cheek. Well, it was something to go off of at least._

 _"Oh, I mustn't forget," said the girl. "If you find my mum, give her this music box. It plays one of Daddy's favorite songs. When Daddy forgets it, we play it for him so he remembers. Mum's so silly for forgetting it."_

 _She opened the window just a smidgeon to squeeze a music box that could fit in his palm. He only saw the pale hand of the little girl for an instant before shutting the window again. The music box rested on the sill._

 _"Sure," he said to her before pocketing the music box. He felt uneasy after hearing their father's… condition._

 _Was he starting to lose himself like the other civilians? Was he slowly becoming mad? Would he attack anything that moved, be it man or beast?_

 _Bell promised to find them anyways. For the girl's sake._

 _But what he found was nothing but regret._

 _He found his way through the sewers to the back entrance that would lead to the Grand Cathedral. He had to cross through Oedon Grave that connected below the Oedon Chapel._

 _He found Father Gascoigne, dragging fresh bodies to an altar he made out of a tombstone. One of the bodies was still alive—a man who was whimpering from wounds. Gascoigne dragged him to the altar… and chopped him up with his Hunter's Axe._

 _"Beasts, the whole lot of them," Gascoigne muttered. He said this to Bell with his back turned. He had heard Bell enter the graveyard but hadn't faced him just yet. He continued with his work until the man was cut into several different pieces._

 _"You'll be one of them soon enough. You'll see…" he finished as he lowered his axe to face Bell._

 _Gone was the Hunter who had helped him slay the Cleric Beast. Gone was the man who had introduced Bell to the way of the Hunt. Gone was the man who was his first teacher._

 _Gascoigne came at Bell like a beast of the Hunt._

0-0-0

Bell _Quickened_ to the side just as the blunderbuss fired. The spray of Quicksilver Bullets few everywhere that tore apart a dead tree had had hid behind. If he had tried to dodge normally a few of the pellets would have torn him apart. He had to use _Quickening_ to avoid them.

He berated himself for getting this far away from Gascoigne. A firearm was only useful at a distance…

…Unless the Hunter in question was Maria, the Bloody Crow of Cainhurst, or Henryk, or… a few others who knew how to fire quick-shots at close range.

Fortunately, it took time for the blunderbuss to reload. And it was such a powerful weapon to where Gascoigne needed to brace himself for the kick. Bell would have a precious second to either get out of the way or stop the man from firing in the first place.

With the shot fired, Bell had a chance to engage in close combat. Gascoigne needed a few seconds to reload the gun before he could prepare another shot.

The Old Hunter knew this. He had tucked the blunderbuss to the holster on his back while he gripped his axe in both hands. With a twist of the secret contraption hidden underneath, the staff extended into a poleaxe.

Gascoigne swung his weapon wildly as Bell approached. Bell barely had a chance to duck as he felt the sharp wind brush through his hair. But he kept his momentum going, kicking off the ground with the balls of his feet digging into the ground and a hand to push himself upright. His other hand reached into his coat for the Oedon Knife.

Gascoigne brought his axe around just in time to use the staff as a guard. The Oedon Knife dug into the steel and wood instrument but didn't break it. The runes along its blade lit up. If he pushed a little harder he could break through the Hunter's Axe.

But Gascoigne kicked him away before he could. The boot almost knocked the wind out of him hadn't his coat absorbed most of the damage.

For a thin piece of leather… it was extremely durable. It was exactly like a Hunter's coat should be.

Gascoigne swung his axe again, spinning his entire body so to chain his swings together. Bell was forced to duck and leap around as the Old Hunter moved too fast to leave an opening.

There was a sharp whistle coming from behind Gascoigne. A signal.

Gascoigne threw one last swing before leaping back and to the side.

There was a crack of thunder. Something small zipped past Gascoigne, narrowly missing him by less than a celch. It almost bit into his cloak.

A Quicksilver Bullet slammed directly into Bell's chest. His Hunter coat absorbed the damage and kept it from penetrating, but it still felt like he had been slugged by that silverback during Monsterphilia. He was knocked back, forced to spin and trot backwards just to stay on his feet.

His instincts screamed at him. He only had an instant to bring the Oedon Knife up with his hand against the back of the blade.

He was so glad the tiny thing was far more durable than the steel Hunters use in their Trick Weapons.

It had protected him from Gascoigne's follow-up. The Old Hunter brought his axe around once more with its edge slamming into Bell's knife. The impact rattled his arms and knocked him off his feet. He was forced to land on his back and roll into a crouching position.

"You missed your chance," irked one man from afar.

Henryk. Yet another Old Hunter and Gascoigne's partner during the Hunt. He was standing in the back with his Hunter's Saif—a crude hacksaw that could transform into a cleaver. He kept his eyes locked on Bell's position while he reloaded a Piercing Rifle—one of the few firearms Hunters used for long distance and to pierce through multiple beasts simultaneously.

And Bell's coat had saved him. It had taken the full brunt of such a powerful weapon.

"You missed yours," sneered Gascoigne. He shrunk the axe and grabbed his blunderbuss. He began to reload it. "No matter. Wouldn't be any fun if the rabbit was killed this easily."

"Why?" Bell questioned as he slowly rose to his feet. "Why are you doing this? You almost got Lilly hurt! She had nothing to do with this!"

"Lilliruka?" Henryk said as he readied his rifle. "She's the one who sold you out, Good Hunter. You wouldn't be away from any other adventurer who might interfere without her."

Bell's grip on the Oedon Knife tightened.

Gascoigne gave a bitter laugh, "Why? Do you not remember the Hunt?"

Bell looked at him, eyes full of pleading. "Father Gascoigne, you were the one who helped me against the Cleric Beast. You told me what it meant to be a Hunter. Is it because… because I killed you? You attacked me. You became a beast! Is this all about revenge?"

Gascoigne stared at him behind his bandaged eyes. The smile was gone, replaced by a beastly sneer of canines. "Revenge? No, nothing like that, _Good_ Hunter. A Hunter should fight beasts and beasts alone. Yet your hands are stained with the blood of the innocent."

Bell took a step back, flinching as a memory he didn't want to remember came to the surface of his mind.

"Yes, that one," Gascoigne snarled. "You remember. I am here to punish you for your sins, Good Hunter. For the death of my children!"

Gascoigne let out another savage roar as he rushed for Bell. Henryk knelt down and fired a shot.

Bell was forced to dodge, leaving him open for Gascoigne's first strike.

0-0-0

 _He cried. He puked and then he cried some more._

 _Gascoigne had transformed into a beast in the middle of their fight. Bell had no choice but to kill him. But, though the man had become a wolfish demon maddened by bloodlust, he was still a_ _ **man.**_

 _And then he cried some more after what he had found in the graveyard._

 _The little girl had been right. There was no way he could mistake the mother after seeing her brooch. It was bright, as red as blood, and very beautiful._

 _Its gem matched the color of the fresh wound through her jugular. The wound didn't belong to beast claws. They were too sharp and too narrow. The wound had come from a blade but too deep to come from a knife or sword. It had to have come… from an axe._

 _Gascoigne's axe._

 _Bell couldn't tell if there were any signs of her turning. He couldn't stomach trying to figure out if the woman had been innocent or was becoming a beast. He didn't want to know the tale of this story. He didn't want to know if Gascoigne had murdered his wife out of mercy, pity, or because he was too gone from himself._

 _The music box the little girl gave him burned a hole through him. What was he supposed to tell her? He didn't know Gascoigne was the girl's father until finding the corpse of the mother. He didn't know until the music box had fallen out of his pocket and accidentally opened when it hit the floor._

 _As soon as the box played… Gascoigne went into a frenzy as though something was scratching against his skull. He muttered something—a name that Bell couldn't hear. There was tenderness in it before the man went back to his bloodlust._

 _Bell… had murdered the girl's father. And he was too late in saving the mother._

 _The girl was all alone._

 _But there was still a chance he could save the girl. Upon climbing the steps leading to Oedon Chapel, he found the groundskeeper. It was a withered, almost inhuman and skeletal, old man in a bright red cloak. The man had asked Bell to seek out any survivors of the Hunt and to bring them to the Cathedral Ward, where the old man guarded. The incense burning in the chapel would keep the beasts away and there was plenty to last the entire night._

 _He managed to make his way back to the little girl, having to climb the ladder that led down into the sewers just to reach her._

 _"Hello, Mister Hunter," the girl asked timidly. "Still can't find my mum?"_

 _He paused. His heart ached._

 _He couldn't tell her._

 _"N-No," he said and was glad she couldn't see his face warp with pain. "I'm sorry. I'm still looking. B-But! Listen. It's not safe here. I managed to find a place that'll keep all the monsters out! I cleared a path from here to there. If you take the sewers around the corner, you'll find your way there!"_

 _"Yes, okay!" the little girl said with faith in her voice. It only hurt him more. "Thank you, Mister Hunter! I love you almost as much as Mum and Dad and Grandad!"_

 _He couldn't say anything. Her words hurt him even more._

 _"I… need to go and tell everyone else," he said after a moment. "The road is safe. I took out all the beasts. You should go before more show up. Leave immediately."_

 _He heard her run deeper into the house and rummage through her things. She was collecting what she needed. She was going to leave and head to Oedon Chapel._

 _He left her to carry on his task to tell the other residents who were still sane in Yharnam._

 _But… the only one to listen to him was an elderly woman with a sharp tongue._

 _When he returned to Oedon Chapel, he found the old woman sitting in a chair off to the side. And… only the woman._

 _"Huh? Little girl?" asked the groundskeeper when Bell asked him. "No, sorry. Can't say that I've had, Mister Hunter. The only one who made it here it the lady down there. She doesn't talk to me… but I'm just glad to be of help. Be sure to tell others about this place, will ya?"_

 _Bell wondered if the girl hadn't left yet. Or was she still waiting at home for her parents? He left Oedeon Chapel to make sure._

 _"Hmm?" a different voice answered him when he called out through the window. The voice was older, closer to his age. "You're a Hunter, aren't you? You haven't happened to have seen my little sister by any chance, have you?"_

 _Something fell into the pit of his stomach at the question._

 _The girl went on without a pause, "I told her to look after the house but she took off somewhere. She's quite small and wears a big white ribbon. Have you seen her out there anywhere?"_

 _He told her that, no, he hadn't seen her. But that he had told her about Oedon Chapel and its safety. The girl didn't respond to him. He could almost feel something dark beaming through the window to reach into his soul._

 _He promised to find her, no matter what._

 _And find her, he did._

 _He followed the path he told the little girl. He went down the ladder, deep into the sewers, and through the path that would lead to Oedon Chapel._

 _However, he realized, there were two paths. The first was an extremely long ladder that he first took. It would lead to the bridge that would eventually lead to the graveyard. But the second route was deeper into the sewers. Those he never explored._

 _He followed the second route and discovered one beast he didn't come across before._

 _It was an enormous boar twice his size. It paid him no mind as its head was against the ground, tearing something apart and devouring it._

 _The world was lost to him as he saw a small head with dead eyes stare up at him. The face of a small child with her hair tied in a blood-stained white ribbon._

 _When next he realized, he had carved his weapon through the fat of the boar. Even after it was dead. He plunged his weapon into its carcass over and over again. That, just maybe, if the gods were real and merciful in this Hunt, he could save the little girl._

 _But the boar had already devoured half her body._

 _"Any news of my sister?" asked the other girl once he returned._

 _He didn't hesitate. He clutched the bloodied ribbon in his hand while still soaked in the boar's blood. He was sobbing. His voice shook as he confessed the horrors he couldn't hide._

 _He told this girl everything. About Gascoigne. About their mother. And about her sister._

 _"How… How could this happen?" the girl began to sob just as hard as he was. He heard her wailing from the other side of the window._

 _She wouldn't respond to him. She wouldn't listen to his apologies. She wouldn't allow him to guide him to Oedon Chapel. She wanted nothing to do with him._

 _He should have stayed with her. He should have dragged her to the church even against her own will. He shouldn't have left her alone._

 _It was when Henryk had come after him, shouting madness about seeking revenge. Something had made the Old Hunter snap, to go against his creed after almost a full century of Hunting. It could have been the murder of his partner, Gascoigne._

 _Or, it could have been because of the death of his daughter, Gascoigne's wife._

 _Or, it could have been because Bell has caused the deaths of both his grandchildren._

 _When hearing about this news, Bell rushed to the window. He didn't need to make the full journey to learn what had happened._

 _He found the body of the elder sister on the ground. She had leapt off the edge of the walkway that connected to the sewers._

0-0-0

He was pinned down.

He had heard Gascoigne and Henryk were some of the best and oldest Hunters from the Church. Alone, they were extremely dangerous. Gascoigne had nearly killed him. And it took Eileen's help to subdue Henryk.

There was also a legend they were partners at one point when the Healing Church was at the peak of their power. Bell never saw them together.

But here they were. Together. And against him.

Henryk stayed in the back, waiting patiently with his Piercing Rifle for the perfect shot. Meanwhile, Gascoigne rushed at Bell with the shorter version of the Hunter's Axe. His strikes were swift but the real danger was the strength behind each swing. Trying to parry or block with the Oedon Knife was a mistake. All Bell could do was dodge.

But dodging left him wide open. Gascoigne could use his blunderbuss or Henryk could use his rifle. And he was starting to get haggard by constantly being on the run. Gascoigne kept attacking as though he had endless stamina. And Henryk waited with the patience of a god.

It was said their teamwork hadn't been seen since Sir Ludwig the Moonlight Hunter.

However…

Bell could see all of their moves as though he had seen their choreography when they were practicing. He could see all of their struggles when they were starting out all the way until they had perfected their teamwork. Every move they made resonated through him. They announced what they were going to do right in front of him and they didn't realize it.

They were far more experienced than him by over a century. And yet, they hadn't faced the perils he had faced. They slew beasts in the street and the occasional oddity.

Bell had vanquished multiple Old Ones.

"I don't want to fight you!" he shouted as he moved away from another strike.

"This isn't one of your quests, _adventurer,_ " Gascoigne snarled as he continued with his barrage. "Do you not feel the rush? Do you not feel your life at the edge? This is a Hunt, Bell Cranel. There is only kill or be killed."

The drive of the Hunt was coursing through him. He couldn't deny it. His instincts were screaming at him to cut Gascoigne to pieces. To drive the knife into his heart and rip the beasthood out of him.

But the civil side of him, the Bell that had grown up on a farm and tried to make a life in Orario as an adventure, was arguing with him. There _must_ be a way to appease with Gascoigne.

"I'm sorry!" Bell blurted out as the knife collided with the axe. He gritted his teeth and took the brunt of the attack. His feet slid a few celch from the force. "I tried to save them! I wanted to protect them from the Hunt!"

"They're dead because of your good deeds!" he snarled back. "Your hands are stained with their blood, Good Hunter! I will rip your intestines out with my bare hands!"

Gascoigne let out another roar as he brought his axe around. He put more effort into it. It crashed against his knife and forced Bell's arms to collapse into his chest. The Oedon Knife barely saved his life as the axe slammed against it, colliding against his chest and slamming him back. The wind was knocked out of him as he lost his footing.

Henryk took another shot at Bell as soon as he hit the ground. Bell barely had a chance to lift an arm in defense. The sleeve was weaker compared to the torso section of the coat. However, it was Eina's shield bracer that saved Bell's life. The Quicksilver Bullet skidded across its surface, bounded upwards, and cut into his cheek.

Gascoigne was there to slam his axe down. Bell brought his arm around and used the shield bracer once again. The green piece of armor barely withstood the power and it felt like his arm was about to break.

Bell kicked his legs around to get him to spin while trying to disarm Gascoigne. The Old Hunter reacted quickly and was able to regain his footing after having one of his feet kicked back. It gave Bell enough time to roll back onto his feet and _Quicken_ away from Henryk's next shot. In doing so, Henryk had also given Gascoigne time to recover on his own.

This was getting nowhere. He wasn't doing any damage to them. Nor were they going to stop with words alone.

He could run. No. He couldn't. Running away would solve nothing. They were out to get him over what happened in Yharnam. They would pursue him to the ends of the earth.

"You'll never forgive me," Bell intended on it being a question but it came out as a statement. His heart was already set on this. His instincts were telling him there was nothing he could do to avoid this fight.

"Never," said Gascoigne as he readied his blunderbuss.

Henryk said nothing. His eyes only narrowed slightly as he prepared his next shot. He knelt down, used his forearm as a leveler for his rifle, and took aim.

In response, Bell tucked the Oedon Knife away.

"…I am sorry," he said with every fiber of his being. His heart was crying. Tears started to form around his eyes over the death of those girls. They weren't supposed to die. He truly had been trying to save them. And through his deeds did they both die.

He was crying when he let out a Beast Roar. His own vocal cords let out a high-pitch sonic that sent a shockwave through the air. It blew up a cloud of dirt, tossed rocks aside, knocked over a nearby dead tree, and pushed Gascoigne back. A hard wind made Henryk's rifle sway before he regained his aim.

Bell dashed forward, sprinting low on the ground with as much speed as he could muster. He fired off like a bolt of lightning, traveling significantly faster than what he was previously used against them. It was nearly on par with the _Quickening_ technique with how he zipped around, never staying in one spot for too long and constantly bouncing left and right.

Henryk couldn't take the shot as he couldn't predict where Bell was traveling.

His eyes widened as Bell didn't move towards Gascoigne. The Good Hunter had circled around the priest and was accelerating towards Henryk.

Henryk tossed aside his rifle and withdrew his Hunter's Saif and Repeater Pistol. In a flash, he used the firearm, letting two shots of Quicksilver Bullets fly out of the twin barrel.

Bell became mist and ash as he used _Quickening_ to let the bullets travel through him and accelerate his dash further. He was upon Henryk in the next instant.

His red eyes were piercing. They glared down at Henryk like a maddened beast of the Hunt. But they also continued to scream in agony like a Hunter who was forced to slay one of their own.

The boy pulled the Blade of Mercy from deep underneath his coat. The curved short sword locked with Henryk's saif.

"That weapon!" was all Henryk could chance to say.

Bell twisted the hilt and pulled hard with his free hand.

The Blade split in two with the first half still locked with Henryk's weapon.

It ended so quickly. Henryk could do nothing as Bell drove the tip of the second blade through the Old Hunter's protections and pierced deep into his chest.

But Bell wasn't done there. He twisted his wrist, prying the saif out of the man's grip, and used the first blade to cut off Henryk's hand before he could use another shot of his Repeating Pistol. And in a fluent motion, Bell reversed his grip on the same blade to drive it into the man's neck.

With a kick, he pulled both weapons out of the man. Henryk was dead before his body hit the floor. The incident had lasted no more than a few seconds.

And still, tears continued to fall down Bell's eyes. Even when those crimson orbs glared up at Gascoigne and marked him as a target.

"A Hunter must Hunt," Bell said in a voice that was crying with sorrow and regret. But it was also as tough and callous as any other beast who did what was necessary to feed. "I'm sorry for what I've done. I can't tell you enough. But that won't stop me from finishing what I started. You're still mad, aren't you, Father Gascoigne?"

Bell lowered his weapons while spreading his arms out slightly. He was prepared to engage Gascoigne in another bout. But this time, he wasn't going to try to talk his way out. He wasn't going to try to reason with the man.

Bell was going to treat him like a beast.

 _"What if another familia sees you with them?"_ his goddess had asked earlier this morning. He had to force himself from telling her what he would have done. It came to him so naturally. He truly wasn't the same boy he was when he first became an adventurer. The Dream had changed too much of him.

"I will kill anyone who threatens my home," he said with such innocence it could only be truth. It was void of any emotion and filled with nothing but fact. It was the fortitude of the ideal Hunter.

He didn't want his goddess to see what he had become. Not someone like this. Someone who was drenched in so much blood he could drown in it.

Bell let out another Beast Roar as he charged at Gascoigne. The Blade of Mercy created silver streaks as he brought them around for the graceful flow of combos that was guaranteed to disarm and slay any Hunter. Such was the purpose of their creation.

Father Gascoigne had been a true challenge back in the Dream only because Bell was still so inexperienced in the Hunt. But now? Now things were the opposite.

Gascoigne wasn't experienced enough to deal with Bell.

0-0-0

"Hey, hey, what the shit is this?!" demanded the adventurer from the other night.

Lilly had found out he had only joined up with their group to get back at her. He offered to help them capture her if only he got a cut in the profit of whatever she had. They had agreed.

Lilly almost felt sorry for him… if he wasn't such a gross pedophiliac who had a thing for prums. The Soma group never intended to pay him off. They were just about to betray him.

"This is the part where we double-cross you," said the raccoon-man with a wide grin. "See the monster there with Nameless Soma Member-G89?"

"You know, I _do_ have a name," snapped the original fourth member of the group. He had appeared from within the hallway with a sack over his shoulder and a bloodied sword in his other hand.

The head of a killer ant was sticking out. Its antennae were twitching as it was giving off a high-pitch wail.

Lilly knew that sound. It was calling for reinforcements. If the killer ant wasn't dealt with quickly, it would call for backup. And killer ants don't live in packs like some of the other monsters in the Dungeon. Killer ants lived in hoards. There were _hundreds_ of them living in the walls of the Dungeon starting from the seventh floor.

They were between the ninth and tenth floor. Both groups of killer ants were going to come to its aid and surround them in a pincer formation.

The muramasa-wielder had realized this too.

Already, the sound of clicking was starting to approach. Lilly's ears perked as she tried to figure out from which direction they were coming from. To her horror, it was coming from _everywhere._

"Drop all your things if you want to live," the raccoon-man said. His men were blocking off all the exits to make sure the adventurer couldn't make a break for it. "You know what will happen in the next minute. Hurry up if you want to live."

The muramasa wielder was glaring at him. His greed almost won him over. But staying alive was his priority. He cursed aloud, tossed his sword and bag onto the ground in front of him, and dashed away. Nobody stopped him.

The sound of his screams was heard a few footsteps later… followed by the disgusting and unmistakable sound of human meat and bone being torn apart.

Lilly's heart was pounding. She was sweating and shaking with fear. Where she knelt, she could feel the ground tremble. The killer ants were coming and there was _a lot_ of them. This wasn't the usual backup of five or six. Nor the rare reinforcements of a group of ten.

There were a few dozen coming.

She let out a small scream as soon as the first wave came out of the walls. They burrowed their way forward. The next wave came out of the hallway the muramasa-wielder ran out of. And the next set was climbing down the steps from the ninth floor.

They were completely surrounded.

And yet, the group of Soma adventurers weren't bothered in the slightest. Some sort of repellent was keeping them alive. It could have been magical talismans under their clothes or some fragrance only the ants could detect. Either way, they had protection.

…While Lilly didn't.

She yelped as one ant got close to her. She rolled out of the way and crawled like a worm with all her might.

The raccoon-man laughed at the sight of her. He grabbed her by the back of her collar and hefted her off the ground. With just one hand he dangled her over his head.

And he extended his arm over the nearest batch of killer ants.

She screamed as she tucked her legs in when they tried to snap at her.

"See, Erde, I'm a very forgiving man," he said with a gleeful smile. "Just give us what you owe and I'll save you. It's my duty as an adventurer to help out a useless Supporter like you, after all."

He lowered his arm slightly.

"OKAY!" she screamed as she tried to keep her feet from getting torn off. "There's a key around Lilly's neck! Take it! It opens the door to Lilly's safe house! It's on 24th East-Main! Please don't feed Lilly to them!"

He didn't hesitate to tear off the first few buttons of her cloak and yank the key off her neck. His smile widened as he took it in. He flashed it at his crewmen, who all smiled back at him.

"Well then," he said while turning back to Lilly. "Now that we have this… there's no need for you any longer."

Lilly's heart froze.

He let her drop.

She screamed with everything she had as she knew as soon as she hit the floor was she going to be torn apart in a slow and painful death.

Death never came, however.

In unison, all of the killer ants stopped their advancements. Lilly bounced off of one of them and it didn't care. When she looked, she found all of their attention was drawn towards the tenth floor entrance. None of them moved. They were as still as a statue.

Except their antennae. They endlessly twitched violently, almost aggressively.

Then, as one, they fled.

Every single one of them turned away from the group of adventurers to return from where they came. Some went up the stairs, some went through a different hallway, and others dug new tunnels through the walls, floor, and ceiling.

The killer ant still trapped in the sack was thrashing around. The adventurer was forced to drop it. It continued to twitch around, trying to escape from the sack even if it killed itself. It was fighting with everything that it had to flee like the rest of its brethren.

Something was coming, Lilly realized. The reaction of the killer ants wasn't normal. It was as though they had sensed the presence of a predator their overwhelming numbers couldn't hope to compete against.

"What… What the hell is that…?"

Even the raccoon-man was feeling it. The fur on his tail was frenzied as his eyes were staring towards the tenth floor.

Lilly heard the sound of approaching footsteps. Light footsteps.

"Excuse me," called out Bell as he stepped into the room. He was covered in dirt and blood yet he continued to look around as though he had accidentally stumbled on a party he wasn't invited to. "Did I hear that right? You were going to kill Lilly?"

"…Mister Bell?" her voice was quiet.

If he was here… covered in blood… then it meant both Gascoigne and Henryk were more than likely dead. They had to be.

On Bell's back were their weapons. From the axe and saw to the magical cylindrical instruments that shot out fire and thunder.

His eyes met hers. They bore into hers and it made her flinch away.

It felt like she had stared into the eyes of a Monster Rex leagues above her mediocre Level.

"I see…" Bell said with an almost regretful tone. "And you were going to walk away too. I guess there's no helping it then.

"Today, I think I'll join the Hunt."

From the back of his inner coat, he withdrew the Blade of Mercy. With a snap and a tug, with sparks lighting up, the Blade split into a set of jagged daggers.

One of the adventurers let out a high-pitched scream. He fell onto his rear as he crawled away at the sight of the twin daggers.

"T-The Crow?!"

Instantly, that triggered the rest of the adventurers to react.

"What?! The Crow?! Where?!"

"Right there!"

"…Is he behind the rabbit?"

"No you fool! He _is_ the rabbit!"

The leader stepped in with a low growl. "Don't be such a twit. I almost soiled myself with that. Look, you, brat, get outta here before you know—"

Bell moved with impossible speed. He was nothing more than a blur with blood trailing behind him. He moved through the crowd of adventurers without needing to touch them. He came straight at the leader.

All Lilly saw was a flash of silver and in the next instance, the man's head was sliced off.

"JESUS CH—"

Bell moved at the same impossible speed. Both his blades crossed over. Blood splattered everywhere. He moved before the man's body could realize it was dead and start to fall to the floor.

By the time that body hit the ground, Bell had killed the third member of the group.

The fourth and final member didn't try to draw his weapon. He turned and ran with all his might.

He didn't make it past the third step. Bell drove one dagger through his back and retched the blade out to create a gaping wound. The man fell to the floor, still alive, but soon to bleed to death.

And then, Bell turned his attention towards Lilly.

She let out a gasp and shirked away from him. Her back hit a wall. She began to whimper as he approached. She shut her eyes and begged for something to save her.

"Ah… Lilly… it's me," he said.

She opened her eyes to find him squatting in front of her. He had his usual timid smile on his face while he scratched his cheek. He had tucked his blades away.

"I know it's kinda hard to tell with all the dirt and all…" he said as he looked over himself. "But it's me, Bell. Sorry, did I scare you? Are you okay? They didn't do anything to hurt you, did they?"

She just… stared at him.

"Here, turn around so I can undo your bindings. That looks uncomfortable."

"…Why?" she asked.

"Why what?" he blinked at that. "Well… of course I'm going to save you. You're a girl and… and they were going to leave you for dead. I couldn't just let—"

"ARE YOU AN IDIOT?!" she screamed with all her rage blowing up.

He stopped and stared at her.

She was shaking. Her eyes were burning as her fears were starting to descend. This boy had teased her worst emotions and had the gal to smile at her as though nothing was wrong.

"Does Mister Bell not realize Lilly tricked you?" she said in a low and angry voice. "Lilly sold you out to Mister Gascoigne and Mister Henryk. For money! Lilly was supposed to lead you to the tenth floor for them to ambush you. So how can you come back to me, with that smile, and ask if Lilly is okay?! Lilly is not okay! Lilly is frustrated because Mister Bell is the worst idiot imaginable! How can Mister Bell smile as if Lilly didn't betray you?! How can you smile at Lilly as though you're Lilly's friend?!"

He blinked once and looked away to ponder at the question with all seriousness he could muster for the situation. He looked like a child who had been asked some grand philosophical question years too advanced for his mind to understand.

"Because I know bad people," he said after looking back at her. He pulled out a black knife from the front of his belt, forced her to lean forward, and cut off the bindings without her consent. "Lilly, I know people who did bad things because they lost who they were or because they wanted to. You're neither of those things. You're not a bad person at all."

He patted her on the head with his dirty and bloody hand.

Strangely… she didn't mind.

But she couldn't understand this idiot and his way of thinking.

"Mister Bell… thank you for saving Lilly…" she said with all sincerity.

"Of course," he said with a bright and friendly smile. "Oh, and Lilly, I'm going to need your help with something."

Her eyes perked up, "Okay… What can Lilly do to make it up to Mister Bell?"

"Help me hide the bodies?" he asked with a nervous smile.

She stared at him some more.

"Look, it's a lot easier than you think!" he assured her as though he didn't _just_ ask her to dispose evidence to a serious murder event. No, he told her the same way the old couple taught her flower arrangements! "I'm going to use this axe to cut them up into chunks. They're easier to move like that. Then we just go into the tenth floor and throw their bodies everywhere. Monsters will come and eat them. Hmm… I wonder if I can use this to make Pungent Juice like before…"

And she stared at him some more.

But… he was right. He _did_ just murder four members of _Soma Familia._ It was a serious crime. One that could have him blacklisted. He could either be hunted by another group of adventurers, banished from the city, or imprisoned.

And Lilly was now his accomplice. There was no doubt he would drag her down if he got caught.

So, with _much_ chagrin, she fulfilled her duties as a Supporter and did what was needed. She did as was instructed.

He worked without losing that innocent smile.

Lilly had lost something precious that day.

0-0-0

Bell looked up at the sky as soon as he stepped out of Babel Tower. After using the facility showers, he was sure he still had some blood and dirt somewhere he couldn't reach. But he did what he could. He might have to go out to a bathhouse tonight to get the rest.

"Mister Bell…" Lilly looked up at him as she approached him. She had been waiting for him at the entrance. "Lilly is sorry for everything. So… Here. Please take this. It was what Mister Henryk promised Lilly."

She lifted a sack for him to take. He almost frowned with discomfort. He already had all his spoils of war on his back. He wasn't sure he could carry whatever else she had.

He had taken Gascoigne and Henryk's Trick Weapons, their guns and ammunition, two cases full of Blood Vials, Beast Blood Pellets, Hunter Marks, Bone Marrow Ash, and another Beckoning Bell along with a matching Resonating Bell.

He wasn't sure what to do with the bells. But if Eileen had entrusted him with a Beckoning Bell of her own, then it meant she had a Resonating Bell to go along with it. Maybe he could give her his Beckoning Bell now that he had a Resonating Bell of his own. That way if she was in trouble then she could call for his help.

The two Hunters also had a Sinister Bell.

He made sure to destroy those. No good could come from those things.

"…Please take it, Mister Bell," Lilly said to him.

"Um… why don't you keep it, Lilly?" he asked. Really, he didn't want it. And he was ready to collapse after carrying everything on his person.

Seriously. The Church Cannon was heavy.

Lilly shook her head, "Lilly doesn't deserve this. They belong to Mister Bell! After all… this mess was because Lilly betrayed Mister Bell. This is Lilly's way of starting her apology!"

"…Starting?" he questioned.

She nodded vigorously, "Yes! Lilly promises to make it up to Mister Bell! Lilly promises to fully support Mister Bell as a true Supporter from here on out. Unless… Mister Bell doesn't trust Lilly any longer…"

His smile twitched a little. Did she really have to look up at him with those large eyes like that? It made him want to give her another head pat.

"Why… don't we split it then…?" he chose to ask. Half because he wanted it just as little as she did and the other half to be polite and accept her offer.

Lilly considered it for a moment. "Are you sure? Lilly doesn't mind giving it all. They're worth a lot. Mister Bell can live a life of luxury with this…"

"I'm sure, Lilly," he said while extending his hand towards her. "Let's just start over. A fresh start! I'm Bell Cranel."

Lilly looked at him for a long moment. She eventually let a smile show before shaking his hand.

"Lilliluka Erde. Please take good care of me, Mister Bell."

"Just please call me Bell. That's all I'm asking…"

"Well… Mis—Master Bell did save Lilly's life."

"…Master? Lilly, I think that's worse."

"Nonsense! Master Bell deserves the highest respect. He is the best adventurer Lilly has ever seen! Or… do you not like being called… _Master_?"

Her smile broadened when she saw him visibly shudder.

"Ohho… so that's what Master is into," she purred with a coy smile.

"A-Am not!"

"Then why is Master blushing?"

"I… I'm not!"

"Master is such a shy Master. Lilly can't believe Master is so embarrassed about being called Master. Really. Maybe Lilly will stop if Master gets upset and decides to punish Lilly. Master might take full advantage of poor Lilly if Lilly—"

"OKAY, THAT'S ENOUGH!" he shouted with a face as red as a tomato. He put his hand over her mouth and pulled her away from the crowd of adventurers exit from the tower. "Look! Guild! Let's go there before more people show up."

Lilly couldn't help but smile at him. She couldn't understand him, in all honesty. Down in the Dungeon, he was merciless. He was a top-tier adventurer who did swift work to a group of Level-Two and Three adventurers. Lilly was sure his presence alone was what warded off the herd of killer ants.

It also frightened Lilly. She wasn't sure him acting like this on the surface was just an act… or Bell was loose in the head.

He dismantled and discarded bodies with the same friendly smile he had when they were clearing monsters in the Dungeon. It seemed all the same to him.

"Hi there, Abe," Bell greeted the Exchange worker as soon as it was their turn in line.

The worker said nothing, per usual. He only slid the exchange box forward under the barred window and waited for Bell to deposit what he had.

They dumped what they had gathered from their journey to the tenth floor. They were a few magic stones the size of coins and a few drop items that was no worth to them particularly.

And then, Lilly placed the sack with the two magic stones Henryk had promised her.

Nameless Guild Member-A, or Abe, raised a brow at this as he did his usual work. He shuffle through the smaller stones and items first before undoing the sack and looking into the contents. His brows shot up into his hair… but his eyes remained as sharp as ever.

He made some sort of hand gesture towards the manager in the far back. The manager's brows furrowed, he nodded, and went to speak to the security guards.

He then pointed at Bell and Lilly.

"…Is everything okay?" Bell asked with another nervous smile. He had taken notice of his surroundings when the Exchange was taking longer than usual.

"We're going to need you two to come with us," said the security guards as soon as they approached the two of them.

They grabbed them by their arms and forced them out of line.

"Eh?!" Bell shouted. "W-W-Wait! What's going on?!"

"Bell?!" Eina shouted from her desk behind the counter. She looked at the manager, "Why is he being escorted like that?"

"Sir, stop struggling and come with us," one of the security guards demanded in a firm voice. "We're only going to ask you a few questions."

"Q-Questions?!" Bell nearly tripped. "Wait! You mean I'm under arrest?! But I got rid of the bodies!"

The entire Guild went quiet after that.

"…Lilly was being extorted," Lilly spoke up. "Mister Bell was forcing Lilly to be his accomplice. Lilly has nothing to do with this man."

"LILLY!"

"Sir… just come with us. _Quietly._ "

"Wait! There has to be some sort of mistake! It wasn't me, I swear! Lilly, say something!"

"Lilly was forced to call him Master and do unspeakable things. Lilly didn't want to do it but Lilly couldn't say no."

"LILLY! Miss Eina! It's not what you think! Tell them about me! Send a messenger to my goddess! I did nothing wrong!"

The security guard grew tired of fighting with him, withdrew a magical rod from his holster, and activated its power.

It zapped Bell in the back of the neck.

"YEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOW!"

"Huh… that usually knocks them out. Kid has some thick skin. Alright, sir, stop struggling or I'm going to have to zap you again."

"B-But I didn't do anything— HIIIIIIIIAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

While all the commotion was going on, Eina was trying to figure out why Bell was being arrested. She demanded answers from the manager, who had nothing to say to her with professional reasoning. The best she could do was point towards Abe and tell her to ask him.

Abe turned around from his desk as soon as she approached. He lifted one of the magic stones from the sack. It was as large as his head and shining with power.

"This is a fake," was his answer to her unspoken question. He handed it to her to examine on her own. She couldn't tell the difference… which was why Abe was in the Exchange and not her. "Code tells us to only discreetly question where he got it from. But… what was that whole bit about hiding bodies, I wonder…?"

He shrugged, dismissing it as none of his business, and went back to work. He signaled for the next person in line, who staggered for a moment as all of the attention was still focused on Bell being dragged to the back room.

Eina couldn't help but rub her temple.

Just what sort of trouble did her client get himself involved with this time?


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: Goddamn. No, Jesus DOES NOT exist in this world.**

 **And people ask me why I drink...**

 **But that's what I get for adding a Monty Python joke in here.**

* * *

"Lilly…" Bell sighed as he rested his cheek against the table. "Why did you have to say those things? We were in there for so long… And now Miss Eina thinks badly of me…"

"Because Master Bell has been nothing but trouble since Lilly met him," she countered before sipping on her ale. She enjoyed watching him flinch. "Cheer up, Master Bell. Lilly was able to explain things before you could make things worse. They believe the bodies you hid belonged to monsters."

Bell continued to sulk, drained entirely of energy. He munched on his fried chips while waiting for their entre to arrive. He had been able to take on two experienced Hunters without a hitch and rescue Lilly from her bullies. But when confronted against authorities? He panicked, he flopped around like a fish, and would have been left hanging out to dry if Lilly didn't persuade them it was all a misunderstanding.

He should have checked the contents of the bag Lilly handed him. No, even when seeing it at the Exchange Bell didn't know the magic stones Henryk gave Lilly were fakes.

"I heard there was an uproar earlier today at the Guild," Syr said, approaching with an armful of food for the two of them. "So that's what happened. Bell, you're not causing trouble again, are you?"

"A-Again?!" Bell blanched. "I've never done anything wrong! I obey the law as much as I can! Just ask my goddess!"

"As much as you can, huh?" Syr giggled. It made him realize she had just been teasing him. He sulked further with his face reddening.

"But what was this about hiding bodies?" she asked as she placed the plates of food down.

"Not so loud!" Bell said as he looked around the tavern.

Nobody was paying them any attention.

"Master Bell protected me from bad people," Lilly explained in a hushed voice. Syr had to lean in to hear her. "But they were from my _familia_ so Master Bell would have been in a lot of trouble if _Soma Familia_ found out. We had to toss them into the tenth floor for monsters to eat."

"I see, I see…" Syr nodded a few times in understanding. She then sighed as she looked at Bell sternly. She pulled out a stool and sat at the edge to lecture Bell, "Just tossing them to monsters isn't enough, Bell. You have to cut them into pieces and spread them around. But even then it's not promised monsters will eat the remains. You have to break in their faces and teeth so they're unrecognizable."

Bell just stared at her.

"Burning works just as well," said Nameless Benevolent Mistress Maid-D as she passed by the table.

"Burning works just as well," Syr nodded approvingly.

"Um… Syr?" Bell asked in a low voice.

"Yes, Bell?" she responded with her usual sweet smile.

"How do you know this?"

"How indeed…?" she answered with a slight tilt of her head and a finger tapping against her lower cheek.

"Syr, can I have another ale?" asked one patron.

"Coming~" she answered in a sing-song voice, rose out of her chair, and went to the back.

Bell's eyes followed her, both amazed and horrified someone as sweet as Syr knew the ins and outs of corpse disposal. He had to go through the Hunt in order to harden his stomach about things like that.

"And if all else fails," the same patron who asked for Syr leaned over to give his input to Bell. "Deny, deny, _deny._ Always have an alibi."

His coworkers gave their own gestures of agreement. They went back to their drinking afterwards.

"B-But, don't you work at the Guild?!" asked Bell.

The man pretended to have not heard.

"Master Bell," Lilly spoke up after watching him squirm and taking a few bites of her dinner. "Can Lilly ask something? Who were those men earlier? It sounded like they had a grudge against you. And how is it that you're so strong? Lilly thought you were just another newbie."

Bell shifted around in his seat. He clutched his fork and knife, slightly raised over his meal but never digging in. He had a small grimace as he considered how to answer the question.

"They're Hunters," he said eventually. "They're from a faraway place called Yharnam. I was one of them not too long ago. I did some things that I can never atone for…"

Lilly tilted her head slightly as she eyed him. "Lilly has never heard of this place before. But Lilly has heard of a similar term before. Are they like the noble clans up north? Lilly heard a rumor they're all a group of beast hunters and that God Ares is at war with their Queen."

"Huh? Queen?" Bell blinked at her. "We have a Queen?!"

Lilly shook her head, "She rules over a small country to the far north. Lilly doesn't remember what it was called. But based on Master Bell's reaction, Lilly doesn't think this is what you were talking about."

He shook his head. Yharnam didn't have a Queen. It was a city built around the Healing Church but had assumed the name from Queen Yharnam of the Pthumerians, the mother of Mergo and original source of the Healing Blood.

A Queen far to the north, full of nobility who specialize in beast hunting… why did it sound so much like—

"Yo, Mama Mia!" waved the Goddess Loki as she marched into the Benevolent Mistress. "A round of the usual!"

Behind the counter, Mama Mia nodded at her and began to write tickets for the kitchens. She issued orders to one of the maids to prepare mugs of ale for the goddess and her favorite adventurers.

The Goddess Loki had entered with the elite team of her _familia._ It was the same bunch Bell had seen before at the Benevolent Mistress. It included the prume, two Amazoness, a high elf, a dwarf, a werewolf, and…

…And Aiz Wallenstein.

Bell immediately faced forward and tucked his head down, hoping his collar would hide his head. For almost a second their eyes had met. His face was burning.

Aiz Wallenstein, given the title as Sword Princess, was someone he looked up to. He admired her. It was just the way she carried herself. She was strong, fierce and graceful with her technique, and she was absolutely breathtaking to look at.

He ran into her once down in the Dungeon when the minotaur attacked. She had come to his aid at the last instance when he slew the monster. It was then and there he was captivated by her. She had his heart as soon as he saw her.

Alas, his experience with girls he wanted to romance was nigh existent. He ended up freaking out and running out of the Dungeon.

The next time they met, it was during the Monsterphilia incident. He hadn't thought about her in the heat of the moment. The back of his mind registered her existence but his drive and instinct as a Hunter had him waging against Lady Maria. He fought against the Old Hunter right in front of the Sword Princess and her patron goddess.

…And, Aiz Wallenstein had shepherded him to one of the spare rooms of the Benevolent Mistress.

It was one of the most embarrassing moments of his life!

How weak must he had looked in front of her? He couldn't defeat Lady Maria. In the end, Aiz had been the one who rescued him, carried him the entire way, and even paid for his stay at the tavern.

He knew the right thing to do was to thank her and apologize for being such a burden. But, right now, he couldn't bear the idea of standing in front of her.

"Master Bell?" Lilly leaned over and tapped his head a few times. "Is something wrong? Are you in trouble with _Loki Familia_ or something?"

"No…" he said in a quiet voice. "Nothing like that. I-It's just…"

He peeked a chance. He lifted his head slightly and turned slowly. His eyes peered over his high collar towards the center of the room, where the best of adventurers kept a permanent reservation.

He froze.

Golden eyes met with red.

Bell stared at Aiz and Aiz stared back. She blinked in surprise. His eyes widened with horror.

He spun back around, sweating bullets. What was he going to do? She saw him! She totally saw him! He considered running away. It was his specialty, after all. But how many times could he run away? There might be a possibility she would give up trying to run into him. But with the frequency he went to the Benevolent Mistress and there's, he would eventually have to face her.

He also couldn't run away. Despite the circumstances, he had to own up. Aiz had taken care of him. He had to be a man and give her his respects. It would soil the name of _Hestia Familia_ otherwise.

So… how to trigger this engagement? Should he wave at her? No… that seemed to be a little reclusive. Should he approach her? No… that seemed a little arrogant. She was a high-ranking adventurer and he, despite his prowess as a Hunter, was still nothing more than a newbie.

"Hey, Aiz, whatcha starin' at?" asked one of the Amazoness girls. She leaned against Aiz and followed the Sword Princess' gaze. "Oh hey! If it isn't the Little Rabbit!"

Now the entire team knew he was there. As if this couldn't be any more pressuring!

And what was up with that nickname? He's heard it a few times. He thought it was just a joke. He _really_ hoped when he became a noteworthy adventurer they didn't brand him with that as his title.

Just in case, he turned and pointed at himself. An unspoken question of clarification was all over his face.

"Yeah, you!" the same Amazoness girl gave him a smile. "Bunny Boy! Aiz, go on, this is your big chance."

The werewolf in the group sputtered. He almost chocked on his ale before slamming the mug down. "Hold on a damn sec! I've got business with the Rabbit!"

"Bete," began the prum with a smile, but his tone was full of warning. "You shouldn't make a scene right now. Can't you see he's eating?"

Aiz turned her head to glare at the werewolf, Bete.

Bete ignored it. He stood with his hands in his pockets. His posture was tall and imposing as he crossed through the room. Adventurers dining tonight couldn't help but gawk at his aura. Here was one of the best in all of Orario. When he moved, no one dared to get in his way.

Bell remained sitting as he waited for the werewolf to approach. He recognized the killing intent burning behind the man's eyes. His hands fell off the table and into his lap, just a reach away from the Oedon Knife in the sleeve of his coat.

For a while, Bete only stared down at Bell. The entire tavern was quiet as the werewolf assessed the boy.

"…I don't like that look in yur eyes," Bete began. "You're just a newbie. Sup with you havin' such a mean glare? Thinking you're at my level…"

Aiz began to rise out of her seat, but the high elf at her side put a hand on her shoulder to keep her in place. Her eyes never left Bell's. She was observing him and making mental note of his reactions.

Bell felt like he was being hunted. Here was one beast leading the front of the pack, sent out by its packmates to scout the potential threat. The rest would observe at a distance and learn how he moves based on his first reaction. They would strategize around that, swarm him, and end him.

In response, he brought his knife-hand up to scratch his cheek. He gave a very nervous smile as he asked, "Um… h-hello. Did I do something to upset you?"

Sometimes killing the first target wasn't smart. It would be best to take out the entire pack in one strike before they could coordinate an attack. For that, he had to make them think he wasn't a threat to them at all.

Bete scowled further at him. He clicked his tongue as he pulled one hand out of his pocket to scratch at his hair. "Geez. Don't act all tough if you can't back it up."

They stared at another for a while longer.

Bete eventually sighed as he crossed his arms, "A'ight, look. I heard what happened at Monsterphilia. So… I was thinking… how's about you and I duke it out? Maybe learn something to defend yourself from a better adventurer?"

"Holy cow!" the other Amazoness girl stood immediately. "Bete is being _civil_?!"

"Butt off! The hell is that supposed to mean?!" Bete roared back at his teammate.

Bell exchanged a look with Lilly. She was keeping to herself as she observed the situation. Her eyes flashed with puzzlement but nothing else. He couldn't tell what she was thinking about.

"Sorry, but I'm going to have to decline," Bell said.

"Hah?!" Bete spun back around and slammed his hands onto the table. "Whad'ya mean no?! Didn't you hear what I said?"

Bell put up his hands and put up a better smile, "I-It's just… I'm a newbie and you're a high class adventurer—"

"Damn straight."

"I can't bother you with something like that," Bell insisted. "I'm very thankful for the offer. But I'd like to get stronger on my own, if that's okay."

"Oi, Little Rabbit," spoke the Goddess Loki in a slick voice. "This ain't a request. It's somethin' from my _familia_ to yours."

There was a string of commotion going around the room. Adventurers and patrons and maids were whispering amongst their selves. The mention of 'War Game' was brought around a number of times.

"Maybe we should explain before this gets out of hand," the prum spoke up with a nervous smile of his own. He stood, which didn't add much to his height, and addressed Bell directly with a more friendly smile. "Don't think of it as us bullying you. This is just a request from Aiz. Bete was the one who offered to spar with you. That's all. Isn't that right, Aiz?"

He looked at the Sword Princess for confirmation.

Aiz blinked a few times, tilted her head in mild confusion, but then caught on what he was talking about. She eventually gave a single nod.

"See?" the prum went on. "That's all. What do you say, Mister Cranel?"

Bell didn't like it. Not at all. It still felt like he was being forced to comply with their demands. He didn't need any training. Not in combat, at least. He could slay monsters and people alike. He could square off against the likes of the Old Ones and the best Hunters. If they were serious about training him, then he might be able to ask about how to be a better adventurer. Maybe learn how to build a team, fulfill roles, and prepare for long ventures into the Dungeon.

But this wasn't that. They thought he flopped at Monsterphilia? That couldn't have been the case. He fended off Lady Maria in front of Aiz and her goddess. So then, was this just an excuse?

"I can't say no, can I?" Bell asked in a wary voice. "Alright. Sure. Thank you very much. But, if it's alright with you, I'll need time to prepare. Some of my gear was damaged while I was in the Dungeon today."

He was referring to his Hunter's coat. While it had remained intact wholly, the tailoring he had made to it hadn't. The stitches were coming undone and now the coat was beginning to fall back to its original size. He looked like a child trying to fit into his grandfather's coat.

He needed everything if they were going to become hostile against him. While he was confident he could challenge them on a one-on-one, he doubted he could challenge the entire team alone. He knew nothing about them nor how they would compare to the techniques of a Hunter.

He could at least prepare to run away with minimal damage.

"That's perfect," answered the prum. "How does one week from now sound?"

Bell could only nod. It would have to do.

"Tch. Yeah, well, whatever…" grumbled Bete. He dismissed Bell and went back to the table of his teammates.

Life began to resume in the tavern as the exchange was finished. But everyone's conversations were full of what they had just seen. A few thought Bell was being spoiled for getting such an opportune lesson. Others continued to believe the _Loki Familia_ were still bullying Bell without needing to declare a full War Game.

Aiz looked his way once. Strangely, she was the one who quickly looked away from him.

Bell didn't understand why she had done it. Did he say something wrong? Was he supposed to reject her request? He didn't understand and it was hurting his self-esteem as a man.

"Master Bell, what was that all about?" Lilly asked.

"I have no idea…" he sighed and went back to his meal. This was supposed to be their celebratory dinner for eluding prison as well as cementing their partnership. "But what I said about my gear is true. I'll be taking tomorrow off to fix it."

"Then I guess you won't be needing me to pack you a lunch tomorrow?" Syr asked as she came by.

"Not for tomorrow, no," he answered.

Syr said nothing else as she went back to work.

"Lilly understands," she nodded. "Lilly also needs to take care of some business on her own. With the money we earned, Lilly needs to look for a new place of residency."

"Would you mind giving a few recommendations if you find any?" he asked. "My goddess and I have been looking for a new place."

"Sure," she said in a slightly more chipper voice.

They went back to their meal, hardly sharing another word other than to discuss their plans for the Dungeon. There was a distance between them. But there was also a pact of sympathy. Bell no longer treated her as he would with Patches. And Lilly would treat him as a friend. They were still strangers to the other; however, they would start here and now to strengthen their bonds.

Still, there was bound to be this awkward silence between them starting out.

0-0-0

Repairing the cloak was his last ditch plan. Simple needle and thread did only patch work and they wouldn't stand up against his abuse. If he had to fight Lady Maria again, the stiches would fall apart and he would wind up stumbling around in clothes too big for him. Therefore, he would have to have it professionally tailored by someone who knew better than he did at the craft or find a more fitting replacement.

He went around the shops at Babel Tower, carrying the Hunter coat in his arms and asking armorers if it was possible for them to fix it. Most of them said they would have to undo the stiches on the coat until they had all the raw material spread out, trim what was needed based on his measurements, and put it back together.

There were two problems with that. For one, even a simple coat like this would take longer than a week for his request. And another… whatever the creator used to stitch the fabric together couldn't be cut by normal means. They would need to use magic instruments… and those would cost Bell an arm and a leg.

His best choice was to find a replacement.

Towards noon, he managed to find the same bargain shop he purchased the Hunter's coat from. Now all he had to do was see if the clerk had any other goods by the same creator or if he could learn more about the creator.

The last time, the clerk hadn't been too friendly with him about that.

"Look, I'm just here to pick up the val you owe me," said one person at the counter.

"And I'm telling you, you still owe me val!" snapped the clerk. "Your junk doesn't sell and takes up space."

"My _goods_ don't sell because you keep putting them in the back of the room! Under a pile of other crap! How the hell am I supposed to earn some cash if you don't do your job!"

"Do not tell me how to do my job. Your shit doesn't sell because it's shit. What nut would buy this crap? All you make is leather and garment. Adventurers need _armor_. You're better off selling your stuff at the garment district."

"My gear works better than some of the toughest armor! I proved that to ya!"

"And I'm starting to think it was all just a scam. My answer is still no. Now move, I have a customer."

"…We're not done with this," the man grumbled but moved away from the counter. He stepped around to let Bell approach.

The man froze, staring down at Bell with wide eyes.

"Oh, it's you," said the clerk. "What terrible timing you have, kid. What can I do for you?"

The clerk glared up at the back of the other man's head.

The other man mentioned was really only a few years older than Bell. He had bright red hair, stood almost a full head taller than Bell, and was dressed in dark attire of black and navy. His eyes looked down at Bell, observing both his Hunter's coat as well as his face.

Bell glanced up at him once. He felt a little nervous around him. He would have to finish his business as quickly as possible.

"Um… I came the other day and bought this," Bell lifted the coat in his arms to show.

"No refunds," the clerk said immediately as he thumbed the sign behind him, written in Common.

"I-It's not that!" Bell blurted out. "I really like this coat. It saved my life. It's just… it's a little big on me and would like to have it tailored. So I was wondering if you have another set in a smaller size or if I could get in contact with the creator."

The clerk groaned and put his face into his hands.

The other man let out a victorious bark of laughter. He moved until he could throw one arm around Bell's shoulders. "Well if it isn't my lucky day. I just so happen to be the guy who made this here coat. I call it the Welf Set. Welf Crozzo, at your service."

"R-Really?" Bell blanched. "You're the one who made this? That's great! Can I talk to you about mending this?"

"Sure, sure," Welf continued to smirk up at the clerk. "But why don't we talk about this elsewhere. It's a little cramped and… dusty for my taste."

"Fuck you," said the clerk.

With that, Welf nearly dragged Bell out of the shop. He didn't say anything for a while. Bell asked him where they were going and how he knew how to make the Hunter's coat. But Welf told him to keep all questions to himself until they arrived at their destination.

It took him almost an hour. They reached a small shack towards the back of the city. It was a small building built with mortar and brick. A large chimney stuck out of the side.

The door was unique. It wasn't fashioned like all the others found in Orario. It was made out of thick steel and bolts. Welf had to use three different keys for the lock before pulling the door open with a minor grunt of effort.

"Sorry about that," he said as he let Bell inside. "Security seems to be lacking since I came to Orario. The tech is seriously behind compared to what's found in Yharnam."

Bell eyed him as he went deeper into the building. The place was dimly lit by a continuously burning furnace but was brightened as soon as Welf activated a few magic lanterns.

The interior of the building was completely different from the exterior. On the outside, it looked like any other building found in this section of Orario. But on the inside… it was furnished out of wood, marble, and steel. The décor of the place resembled far more Yharnamite than what was commonly found in this world.

"It's been a while, Good Hunter," Welf said as soon as he removed his cape and untied his scarf. He took a seat at the small table and gestured for Bell to take the opposing stool. "I was starting to think I was the only one who came from that nightmare."

"…Have we met?" Bell asked.

For a moment, Welf was surprised. But then he barked out in laughter while rocking his head back. "That's right! You wouldn't recognize me. My voice is a little different. And I was a little older there too. I also went under a different name at the time. And… our meeting was short. Geez… no wonder you don't recognize me. You probably don't even remember me…"

Bell pulled out the stool and took his seat. He placed the Hunter's coat at the table while leaving his hands on his lap. He looked around the place while Welf gathered his thoughts. He was looking for an escape route off the chance this was another Hunter with a grudge against him.

The building was small. There was a foldout bed pressed against the wall, a bookshelf full of notebooks, and a room with a curtain that he had to assume was for showers. There were a few ventilation shafts on the ceiling. There was no kitchen. More than two-thirds of the building was used as a smithing workshop. Tools of every kind lined the walls in neat order. There were also… contraptions Bell had never seen in any blacksmithing workshop before.

There was one window with thick glass. It didn't look like it could be opened. And the only way out was through the door with three bolted locks.

…Of all the days he didn't bring the Blade of Mercy.

"I see you haven't lost your touch," said Welf suddenly. "That's good. A Hunter needs to be quick on his feet at all times. And I can't think of no perfect Hunter than you, Good Hunter."

"Who are you?" Bell asked with all seriousness.

"A friend," Welf answered in a matching tone. "Someone who once Dreamed just as you did. I once guarded the beasts in Old Yharnam from the Hunt. My name at the time was Djura."

Bell blinked.

Welf grew a small smile.

"…But you had black hair," Bell recalled.

"It was black from all the gunpowder and smoke," Welf offered. "I _was_ a Powder Keg."

"You were so old…" Bell said next.

Welf opened his mouth to retort but shut it quickly. He tapped a few fingers on the table and looked around his abode. "Damn. I don't usually treat guests so I can't offer you tea or nothin'. It's a bit of a story if you wanna hear."

Bell nodded.

"Tell me something first," Welf began. "What was the last thing you remembered about the Dream? I mean… how did you wind up there?"

Bell thought about it for a moment, "I was… down in the Dungeons. At the fifth floor. A minotaur had escaped from the lower floors and made its way towards me. I ran into it… and it killed me. Or, at least, I thought it did. It was the strangest feeling of déjà vu. I remember running into the minotaur… but I was the one who killed it afterwards."

"Because you went through the Hunt," Welf finished the thought. "I see. Then your situation isn't all that different from mine."

Bell had a question in his look.

"I'm from Rakia," he began his story. "It's a nation-type _familia_ ruled by the God Ares. Things… weren't exactly the best for me there. So I tried to run away. Ares didn't like that very much and sent a party after me. I had some help but… I didn't make it all the way to Orario.

"I woke up in the Hunter's Dream. I participated in the nightly Hunt. At first… it was exactly like how a dream should be. You don't realize you're in a dream until after you wake up. Everything is all a haze and you have hardly any control. And you're able to do things you couldn't do before. I slew monsters, as I was told by Gehrman, and I retrieved their Blood Echoes for the Doll.

"But… the more Blood Echoes I gave, the less I could remember about myself. The less it became a dream and more of a reality. It got to the point where I couldn't remember who I was. I wasn't Welf Crozzo. I was… Nameless Hunter-D.

"Eventually… the Hunt ended. The night was over. Gehrman severed my contract and I was free from the Dream. But… I didn't wake up here. I was still in Yharnam. I didn't realize I had another home to go back to. I thought Yharnam was my home and didn't question it. I was a completely different person with no memories to the life I have here. I had forgotten about the sacrifice Phobos made for me…"

He was quiet for a moment.

"Nameless Hunter-D," he resumed, leaning on the table with his elbows propped. "The rest is unimportant. I studied under Oto, helped formed the Powder Kegs, and chose to live the rest of my days warding off Hunters from entering Old Yharnam. That is, until you showed up."

Now it was his turn to have a question in his eyes.

"When I met you," he began in a different pitch, "you were just another Hunter passing by. You were another victim taken in by the Dream. You had no intention of Hunting the beasts I watched over, so I let you pass by. That is… until the moon descended. I never cared much for the workings of the Church and their search for the Old Ones. I should have. Everything changed when the Paleblood moon arrived on the same night you began your Hunt."

Welf was quiet for a moment. He shifted in his seat while adjusting his weight on his elbows. The expression on his face said he wasn't done with his story just yet.

"The night eventually ends. The day always approaches, even under a Paleblood sky. This Hunt was no different. Yet, _this one_ was different.

"I woke up as Welf Crozzo, full of my old memories. My years in Yharnam was nothing more than a Dream. I woke up moments before my death. My experiences as a Hunter, engraved into me, helped me escape the party after me. I eventually made my way to Orario. And I became a blacksmith."

He gave a small shrug.

"But… you remember the Hunt?" asked Bell.

"Not at first," Welf shook his head. "It was all like a dream. It was all jumbled and fuzzy. I was Welf Crozzo again as if I had woken up from a really long sleep. I've been here for about a year now. Slowly, everything started to piece together. I remember the Dream and the endless nights of the Hunt. And I remember you, Good Hunter.

"What did you do what countless Hunters before you failed to accomplish?"

Bell was quiet as he mulled over Welf's story. There were a few similarities they shared such as how they winded up in the Dream and how they were back in the Waking World. Except Welf continued his existence as a Hunter even after his Dream had ended. Bell only served one night and…

"I said no," he answered with a hard look. "I went through so much. I killed so many. I killed Hunters who went mad, friends who couldn't recognize me, and people who I always thought were beasts. Gehrman said he was going to set me free… but he was also going to pick another Hunter."

Welf's eyes widened slightly, "So, what? You fought him? You fought the First Hunter? And won?"

Bell only gave a grim nod. There was more to the story. So much more. It wasn't that he didn't trust Djura… or Welf, in this case.

He didn't want to tell anyone about the Moon Presence that created the Hunter's Dream. He didn't want to acknowledge that abomination himself.

The answer didn't fully satisfy Welf. All he could do was accept it, however.

"All 'n all," he began with a casual shrug, "it's good to see a familiar face. I was honestly starting to think I imagined the whole thing and was going crazy."

"What have you been doing all this time?" Bell asked. "You said you were here for a year. You made this coat. Have you made any other Hunter equipment?"

"That's right," Welf's eyes lit up as he eyed the coat folded neatly on the table. "You said you wanted it tailored, yeah? I can do that. But I'd rather make you something more fitting for your style, Good Hunter. That coat is just one of the generic things I sell just to get by. Here, let me show you my workshop."

Bell looked around the room once more.

"Nah, this is just a front," Welf waved it off as he stood, went to the bookshelf, and pulled a few books off the bottom shelf. He knelt down, reached for something at the back, and yanked something hard. "This is where I mainly make adventurer gear."

A panel in the corner of the room on the floor flipped open. It was large enough for a person to fit through and climb down a steep set of stairs.

Welf took one of the lanterns off a hanger and gestured for Bell to follow.

"Watch the first step," Welf warned. "I didn't measure right so some of them are uneven. Spent too much on the gears hidden in the walls rather than—"

He nearly slipped when he wasn't paying attention. He caught his footing, regained his balance, and pretended there was no fault with his head held high.

"What's that smell?" Bell asked as he followed behind.

"Chemicals," Welf answered. "Mostly stuff to get rid of the stench of the sewer. Had to dig into it in order to make space. The rest might be gunpowder, explosive jelly, charcoal, and your typical hot metal fumes. I keep the place ventilated so it's safe. I've gotten used to the smells, though, so I can't really tell what else is down here."

Welf reached the bottom step and pulled a lever beside the wall. There was the sound of gears winding behind the walls.

Light filled the room. It wasn't made out of torches or magic stones. The room was filled with actual sunlight coming from the surface. There were windows in this underground room that redirected sunlight with mirrors and shone it through other mirrors spread around on the ceiling and walls.

There were also several magic lanterns hanging around, probably set up if the mirrors didn't work or when daylight wasn't at the ideal time. The sun probably had to be at a specific moment for the mirrors to work. However, some of the lanterns were missing some of the magic stones needed to fuel them.

"This place is bigger than upstairs," Bell commented.

"Well, I had to use the sewer tunnels rather than digging it all out on my own," Welf explained. He pointed to a few areas. "That one leads to the main sewage that'll take you to North Main. That one I use to dispose of wastes. And that one is just in case I need to book it."

"What do you do when people… you know…?"

Welf looked at him. He waved it off, "I redirected it all to the second tunnel. Believe me, I had that problem for the first couple of weeks I started to build this. I… don't want to talk about it."

They stepped further into his underground workshop. Bell was reminded of the Hunter's Workshop found in the Dream and at the bottom of Oedon Chapel. Except, that house was small, compact, and extremely limited in what it could provide.

There was a smithing station on one side of the cavern with a furnace twice the size as the one above and full of three times as many different tools of every variety. Similar contraptions and then some were placed around it.

Lining along one side of the walls were an assortment of raw materials. Labeled crates were full of metals, dusts, powders, and stones. There were shelfs filled with labeled jars of various monster drop items. Some of the jars were empty with the labels still intact.

There was a wall dedicated to storing scrolls and books full of markers and tassels behind sealed glass. There was also a desk for sketching blueprints along with tools of measuring and scaling.

The last wall was what Bell was captivated by. He couldn't help but approach it. He also saw Welf smile with pride.

Bell stared at the weapon's rack of Trick Weapons. They were all the transforming weapons belonging to the Hunters. Some of them he recognized, such as the Powder Keg's Boom Hammer and the Stake Driver. Others were altered versions like Ludwig's Holy Sword, the Kirkhammer, and the Threaded Cane.

Others he didn't recognize because they were completely new.

He couldn't help but pick up a strangely curved, serrated sword. The guard wrapped around his hand rather than over it like a normal sword would.

"That one turns into a shield," Welf explained. He took it from Bell to demonstrate. "See here? There's a switch at the pummel. Hit it against something hard and the sword…"

He hit it against the wall. Nothing happened. He did it again. And, again, nothing happened.

He frowned, scratched his head, and placed it back on the rack. "Eh. Some of them are still faulty. They're a work in progress—"

The sword cracked, breaking apart into seven pieces before folding over on itself until it became a serrated shield. It clattered close to their feet.

"Faulty," Welf repeated with a groan.

"This is still amazing," Bell said as he picked up the shield. He equipped it and began shadow-fighting a few monsters, trying to figure out how to use the bladed edge of the shield for both attack and defense. "I would have loved to have had a shield countless times during the Hunt. But the only one I found was made out of rotting wood and the other made out of mirrors."

"The earliest Hunters just picked up what they could," Welf scratched the bottom of his chin. "I heard Gehrman went on Hunts in just his overcoat and a harvest scythe. Besides, shields are for fighting people. Beasts fight differently. Still didn't stop me from making this, though."

Bell handed him back the shield. Welf struggled with it until it snapped back into its sword form and placed it back on the weapons rack. He waited with a heavy glare, daring the thing to change into a shield again. When it didn't, he stepped back.

"The problem is…" Welf began as he examined his weapons. "These are just lackluster imitations. I've had to make everything from scratch. The technology in this place is lacking compared to the stuff Gehrman and Oto designed. I've had to make things to make other things to make even more things. Look at this."

He went to the smithing workshop and started to pull out tools from the drawers and cupboards. "Do you know what this is? It's a screwdriver; it's used for twisting in screws. Never mind I had to develop a mold for screws of every shape. This here is a wrench; same principle except it tightens bolts. And this? This is a blowtorch. It allows me to meld metals together. I have a full cache of these things; all of them I had to make on my own."

"…Sounds like a tough time," Bell offered to say. He didn't realize how strenuous it was when making Trick Weapons. Most of the things he used in the Dream had been given to him. He never considered how much work was put into them.

"You have no idea," grumbled Welf as he put everything back. He leaned against the work station with his arms crossed. "The biggest problem I'm facing is my raw goods. I can go down into the Dungeon and get a few things. But those are all just the grunts and mediocre drop items I can manage to scrape. I get lucky once a blue moon to find a rare item selling at the market… and it's another problem if I can afford it. The real stuff I need to make _proper_ Trick Weapons are the things dropped by Floor Bosses and Monster Rexes."

Bell eyed the weapons once more, "They… seem to be fine."

"They're wall ornaments," Welf scoffed. "They're nothing more than prototypes for me to figure out how to get them to work. Take any of those into the Dungeon and I guarantee they'll break after a few short runs. I need stronger, more flexible materials. I need metals with a high density that can absorb the stress, heat, and pressure worthy of a Powder Keg. I need something that _doesn't break._ "

He said that last part with a heavy sneer. He caught himself and scratched his head with irritation.

"Ah… Welf…" Bell spoke up as he thought to himself. "You know, we're not the only Hunters here."

Welf had his attention.

"I ran into Lady Maria a few times. And I fought Father Gascoigne and Henryk just yesterday."

"That's not possible," Welf cut him off. "They're all dead. Maria committed suicide years before the Dream became a thing. And I thought those two were done in by the Crow."

Bell was silent after hearing about Lady Maria. He didn't know what to do with this information. Lady Maria… was already dead? She had killed herself before the Hunter's Dream began? That didn't make sense. If it was true… then how could she be here?

How could any of the Hunters be here? He saw Eileen bleed out until she took her last breath. And he had killed Gascoigne and Henryk personally during the Hunt. Yet there was evidence Eileen was present in this world and he had engaged against the Old Hunters the day before.

"I don't know," Bell said eventually. "But it's true. It was them. But that's not the point. Would it help you at all if I told you I was able to get some Hunter's weapons?"

Welf perked a brow. "Oh? Like what?"

Bell lifted his gaze as he thought, trying to recall everything he stashed inside the church that was his home. "There's the Hunter's Axe, the Hunter's Saif… a Piercing Rifle, oh, and a Church Cannon—"

"You got your hands on a _Church Cannon_?!" Welf rose to his full height. "A Church Cannon?!"

The Powder Kegs. They were infamous as 'Hunter Workshop heretics'. They designed instruments that relied heavily on gunpowder. Their instruments were odd most of the time… but extraordinarily lethal when used by proper hands.

Welf, being one such Powder Keg, couldn't help but jump in surprise about Bell finding one of the biggest boom sticks in all of Yharnam. Of course.

Welf thought to himself, curling a few fingers around his chin as he muttered to himself. His other hand reached for a small book from the inside of his kimono. He flipped it open with his thumb and went to the last entry.

"This could work…" he muttered a little more clearly for Bell to hear. "This might actually work! Good Hunter, I'd like to make a deal with you. Come with me into the Dungeon. Help me gather the materials I need to finish my projects. And, in exchange, I'll make all of your gear. Armor sets, Trick Weapons, firearms, you name it."

"Really?" Bell jumped at the idea.

"Absolutely," Welf continued with a ferociously hungry grin. He tapped on his small book, "This is a record book that helps me keep tabs on the monster spawns within the Dungeon. Here's what we need. Three Floor Bosses and a Monster Rex."

"You can keep track of monster spawns?" Bell approached and peered into the book. "I thought they just pop up randomly."

"There's a pattern," Welf shared. "You can start to paint a picture after seeing all the drop items in the market. I'm part of the _Hephaestus Familia_ so most adventurers come to us. They hand us the rare items and ask us to make equipment from it. Keep track of that and you can start to see what monster spawns at what period of time.

"It's crucial we get something from a Monster Rex," he said next while tapping one piece of scribble in his book. "Unfortunately, the closest one isn't until the Skeleton King down in floor thirty-seven."

"Thirty-seven?!" Bell shrieked. "B-But I've never gotten any deeper than the tenth floor!"

"I've soloed my way down to twenty-three," Welf offered. "If I can do it, imagine how far the legendary Good Hunter can go. We'll be fine at thirty-seven with just the two of us. Really, the Dungeon isn't that far off from the Pthumerian Tombs. It's almost frightening if you think about it."

They were both silent for a moment as they considered the comparison.

"I could have gotten the ribs of the Goliath, but _Loki Familia_ already took it out the last time they went into the Dungeons. And I could have gotten the heart of the Hell Beast. But some newbie decided to sell _everything_ to the Guild."

"I-Is that right…" Bell chose to say carefully. Hopefully Welf wouldn't notice that the mentioned newbie was standing right beside him. He slew the Hell Beast during his rampage in the Dungeon. And it was Lady Maria who picked up all the drop items and magic stones and then sold them to the Guild.

"So what do we need from the Skeleton King?" he asked next.

"His crown," Welf answered as he pointed at another note. "It's made out of dense materials only found in the Dungeon. Some bone dust would do nicely. If we're lucky, maybe his weapons and staff. I could melt those down for their base materials. Yup. The Skeleton King it is! With this… I can make one hell of a weapon the world has never seen."

Bell looked at him, "So… what did you need the Church Cannon for?"

"Do you know how a cannon works?" Welf closed his book and put his hands on his hips. "It contains a high-pressured combustion within its chamber, expelling a chunk of hot metal at a high velocity. The problem the Healing Church had with it was none of their Executioners could withstand the kick. The Church Cannon was designed to act as any other cannon while absorbing most of the kick within itself."

"Uh huh…" Bell nodded slowly as he tried to follow.

"I'm going to use it as a base," Welf explained. "I'm going to transform the Church Cannon into something truly amazing. Something no one in existence could make. An instrument that can only be made as a blacksmith of _Hephaestus Familia,_ a Powder Keg engineer, and a bearer of the cursed Crozzo blood.

"A weapon of legend, Good Hunter. One that can change the world and will never break."

Bell found himself resonating with Welf's hope. He felt inspired to see Welf make his dream come true. Welf was determined to see this happen to the very end. It was just the same as Bell wanted to become a high-ranking adventurer, make his goddess proud, and catch up to the woman who caught his eye.

"We're going to need a supporter to help carry all the loot," Welf said as he began to calm down. "Dammit all. I don't have that kind of cash… Maybe Hephaestus will loan me some if I tell her what it's for…?"

"I have a supporter," Bell raised his hand. "Although… I don't know how she'll feel about going all the way down to the thirty-seventh floor."

"That's perfect!" Welf cheered. "And don't worry. If we keep our heads straight, we can take care of her. I know my way around the Dungeon and have a few maps of the lower floors. With you and me, Good Hunter, she's in good hands."

Welf extended his hand.

Bell shook it with a smile. They both had a firm grip.

"Pack your things, Good Hunter," Welf looked around his workshop, immediately making a mental list of all the things he was going to need. "We leave in three days."

"You can just call me Bell— THREE DAYS?!"

Welf looked at him with an odd expression, "Well… yeah. The Skeleton King spawns in four days. We need at least a full day to reach the thirty-seventh floor since it's us two plus a supporter."

"Three days…" muttered Bell as his shoulders sagged. "That's cutting it close. What am I supposed to tell my goddess? What… What am I going to tell Eina?!"

Now there was a terrifying idea. Eina flipped out beyond all measure as soon as she found out he went down to the tenth floor. He hadn't been so terrified since coming across the Cleric Beast during the beginning of the Hunt. Except, the beast named Eina wasn't something he could fight back. All he could do was whimper in a corner as she chewed him out.

If she ever heard he jumped all the way to the thirty-seventh floor…

"You can leave your coat with me," Welf said as he took out some measuring tape from another drawer. He immediately began to pull and prod Bell's limbs while the boy was going through his mental crisis. "I'll have it finished for you before we meet up again. It'll only be temporary. I'll make you something better depending on what we find in the Dungeon."

"Uh… sure," Bell nodded. "I guess I can gather… potions? What exactly do we need for this trip?"

"Oh, yeah, here…" Welf was making notes of his measurements in his book. He flipped to a new page, scribbled something, and tore it out to hand to Bell. "This is what I recommend. Make sure to only pack what you can carry while leaving some space. We're going to be taking as much loot as we can haul."

"I… I see…" Bell blinked as he read the list. It was surprisingly simplistic. It was mostly health and energy potions, spare weapons, cleaning kits, and… food.

"I've a lot to take care of," Welf said as he pocketed his book again. "Sorry, but I'll be working for the next few days. Be sure to meet me at the Guild entrance three days from now. Oh, and Bell? Thanks. I haven't been this excited about anything in a while."

Bell smiled back at him. "Yeah, sure! I'll be in your care when we go to the Dungeon."

They said their goodbyes. Bell excused himself as Welf began to work in his underground workshop.

He couldn't help but think as he unlocked the front door… did he just get suckered into this? He didn't exactly get a chance to say no.

Maybe he was just a pushover?

Either way, his chore of the week was complete. He went out today to get his coat tailored and that's exactly what he was getting.

It couldn't be helped he was getting a little bit more out of the deal, it would seem.

0-0-0

 _He wasn't sure how much further he could go. Connecting the Research Hall and the Astral Clocktower had been a sunflower garden. There, he ran into what Simon called the Living Failures. They were the patients who came to the Healing Church and never seen again. They had been experimented on in the Church's obsessive search to make contact with the Old Ones._

 _Much like the beasts of the Hunt, Bell was forced to put down more innocent people. What frightened him the most was the fact Simon said he hadn't seen the worst of the Healing Church. What Lady Maria hid behind her was the true secret and the source of the Hunter's Nightmare._

 _He pushed open the doors and made his way into the Astral Clocktower._

 _It was a massive room with a glass panel clock taking the entirety of the back wall. It had been designed so time could have been read from inside the tower. However, instead of numbers, the dials rested on Caryll Runes._

 _Sitting at the center of the room was a corpse._

 _Her body was slouched in the chair. At her side was a small table that held a spilt glass of wine and a shattered photograph. He immediately recognized it as the missing photo from the mantel within the Hunter's Dream. However, he couldn't see what the picture had been as the glass had been smashed._

 _The corpse had once been a woman. Her body was as pale as chalk. She was once beautiful with ashen gray hair and a porcelain face._

 _Bell couldn't help but compare her to the Doll. Their similarities were too close to be coincidence. The matching frame of the photograph encouraged the notion._

 _Blood dripped down her arm as it dangled over the armrest. Her wounds had been fresh. A deep gash cut through her neck with the blood flowing off her shoulder and down her arm._

 _Was this Lady Maria? Was this the woman Simon had told him about?_

 _He was tasked with killing her in order to uncover the Church's darkest secret. But… it would seem he was too late. She had taken her own life._

 _Or so he thought._

 _The bloodied arm snatched forward faster than he could blink. Her hand latched onto his and pulled him close. Her eyes flashed open with a fire burning as intense as the pits of hell._

 _Her eyes were pale. They were the same colorless shade as the Doll's._

 _"A corpse should be left well alone," she said to him in a callous and annoyed tone. She held her gaze, pressing the importance of her words deep into his mind. It was only when Bell began to shake did she let go._

 _He took fearful steps away from her._

 _She rose out of her seat. She fixed her hat and brushed back her cloak. A Trick Weapon rested on her right. She rested her hand on its hilt with habitual grace._

 _"Oh, I know very well. How the secrets beckon so sweetly."_

 _She stepped forward._

 _He could only step back._

 _The presence of death had never been so strong before. The bloodlust flaring through her eyes was more tenacious than any beast he had come across. This woman, Lady Maria, wanted nothing more than to kill Bell._

 _No. She wanted to make him suffer._

 _He had invaded onto something sacred. Her eyes flashed with knowledge. She knew everything he had done up to this point. She knew he had slain Ludwig and had desecrated the Research Hall. And she knew what he was after._

 _"Only an honest death will cure you now," she said as she readied her Trick Weapon. The Rakuyo, an instrument with a dagger and a katana in one. "Liberate you, from your wild curiosity."_

 _Her steps were slow, graceful, like a predator stalking its prey with silent observation._

 _This was no beast he had come across. This was a Hunter during the golden age of the Hunt._

 _She_ Quickened _towards him, bringing her weapons around as fast as lightning._

0-0-0

Bell shouted and shot up. He was shivering in cold sweat and panting. His skin was tingling and his ears were ringing.

He could feel the hands of his goddess trying to comfort him. She had wrapped her arms around his head and held him close to her chest. She was chanting a mantra of assurances. He could hardly hear her.

All he could do was wrap his arms around her and sob.

He remembered. He remembered Lady Maria. He remembered their fight at the Astral Clocktower.

He remembered killing her, unlocking the secret pathway through the clock itself, and finding himself to the heart of the Hunter's Nightmare.

He found himself in the Fishing Hamlet. And there… was where he learned the darkest deed of the Healing Church.

He wanted to scream. It was something he didn't want to remember. He didn't want to remember what the people of the hamlet went through. He didn't want to know what the Church had done. He didn't want to know!

He didn't want to know about Kos.

"It's alright, Bell," his goddess whispered into his ears. She ran her fingers through his hair while holding him tightly. "It's alright. It's over now. You're awake. You're here with me."

That's right. He was awake now. The Dream was over. What happened in the Dream and the Nightmare were over. He was here, with his goddess, in Orario.

He indulged in a little selfishness for the moment. He continued to hold onto his goddess like a lifeline between reality and dreams. He rested his head against her chest as she continued to stroke his head.

"I'm sorry… goddess…" he mumbled after a few minutes passed.

She continued to stroke his head without saying another word.

When she decided he was calm enough, she released him. However, her hands slid down his arms until she could grasp his hands.

His eyes widened. When he pulled his head back, he could see his goddess now.

She had been crying. Her eyes were red with streaks staining her face. He hadn't noticed until now.

"G-Goddess…" something in his heart dropped at the sight. He felt ashamed of himself. He made his goddess cry. He had done something absolutely unforgiveable and it tore him apart.

"Bell," she said his name tenderly, as though saying his name alone could comfort her. She squeezed his hands a little tighter. "No more. I can't pretend nothing is wrong any longer. Please. Please tell me what's wrong. I can't stand to see you toss around night after night like this. Tell me what's going on. I can't help you if you won't tell me."

More tears began to gather around her. She sniffed as her lower lip trembled.

Her words and her actions were eating away at him. He was becoming the worst. He had sworn to make her happy since the very first day they became a _familia._ And now, all he had been doing was making her grieve.

He wanted to tell her nothing was wrong. He didn't want her to worry. But he couldn't control himself while he slept. He couldn't control his dreams and the memories that flooded through him.

He didn't want her to know about the Hunt. He didn't want her to know about all the horrific things he had seen and done. He didn't want her to know about the abominations that drove him to the brink of insanity just by gazing upon them.

But this was his goddess. This was someone he loved dearly.

And he was breaking her heart by keeping this secret from her.

"Okay," he said while lowering his head. He couldn't bear to look at that breaking face. He could only look at their hands. He gave hers a firm squeeze. "Okay. I'm sorry, goddess. I didn't want to make you worry about me. But I've done that already, haven't I?"

"Bell, you idiot…" she sobbed.

He was quiet for a moment as he tried to gather his thoughts.

"It's a long story," he said eventually. "And you might not believe me. You might think I'm crazy. But it's the reason why… why I'm so much stronger than I should be. It's why I know Eileen and why I have the Blade of Mercy. And it's why Lady Maria tried to hurt you during Monsterphilia.

"Goddess… please, no matter what you hear, please don't hate me. Please don't think I'm a terrible person. Please don't leave me…"

It was his turn to cry as he held her hands tightly.

She promised. With all her heart.

They stayed like that past dawn, sitting on the couch and holding each other's hands.

The Goddess Hestia listened intently on everything Bell could remember about the Hunt, through the Dream and through the Nightmare.

0-0-0

"…That's the last of them," Tione said.

"She took them all on her own," Tiona groaned. She didn't get a chance in this action this time. "You know, Aiz would be a lot cuter if she pretended to be in trouble every once in a while."

Aiz began to sulk. She flicked her sword to the side before sheathing it. It was out of habit, mostly. There was no blood for her to clean off this time. The entire floor she had swept clean were full of zombies and skeleton knights. She had taken them all on by herself.

"Oh well," Tiona shrugged. "Hey, Aiz, need a potion? An elixir? Maybe a potato puff?"

"I am fine…" Aiz shook her head. Her eyes twinkled suddenly. "But I would like that last one."

Tiona tossed her the packaged snack. Aiz caught it as though the universe itself was guiding the sweet into her hands. She tore it open and began nibbling vigorously.

"In any case…" Tione said as she looked around the vast open area. Bones littered everywhere as far as they could see. "The monsters have been taken care off. What should we do next, Finn?"

The prum, who knew Aiz was going to be out of control today, never got out of his relaxed posture. As an experienced adventurer, and one of the top five at that, he knew he should be cautious even when roaming around a level-four class Dungeon floor like thirty-seven. But, with the way Aiz has been pumped in her training, he knew she was going to be doing most of the fighting. Hardly anyone got a chance to participate in any of the monster hunting today.

He could honestly say he just took a casual stroll through the Dungeon without being in harm's way once.

"Hmm…" he placed his hands behind his head as he looked at his teammates. "It would be a problem if we ran out of food. It's getting late. Maybe we should start heading back?"

Riveria spoke up, "I'm going to have to agree with the captain. You two, start packing up."

She began to direct the couple of supporters who had followed them down here. They were busy gathering the magic stones and any special items from the undead monsters.

Aiz's eyes flashed once more. She lowered her potato puff for just a moment in order to speak.

"Finn, I would like to stay. Alone."

The group looked at her with concern.

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Finn offered. "It doesn't matter how low-leveled the monsters are here. I can't leave an ally in the Dungeon alone. Plus… we haven't heard any activity from the Hunters lately. We should stick together."

"Come on, Aiz!" Tiona put her hands on her hips and pressed her face close to Aiz's. "You've been fighting all day! Remember we came down here _for fun_? You're going to exhaust yourself. Just look at you! You're covered in sweat! I don't think Bunny Boy is into that kind of thing."

Aiz took a moment to examine herself.

Her eyes saddened slightly.

Tiona suddenly felt like she had kicked a puppy.

"Don't be putting things in Aiz's head," Riveria scolded. "You know how she gets. Finn, I will have to ask that you respect her request as well."

"Hmm?" Finn looked up at the high elf. "You know I can't fully do that."

"This one doesn't often make selfish requests. I would like you to listen."

"Even so, I have a responsibility. I can't just leave her down her by herself."

Riveria thought for a moment. She eventually sighed, slightly frustrated and somewhat reluctant. "Very well. Then I will stay here with her."

Aiz's eyes lit up with joy.

Finn frowned but thought about it. "Alright. If it's you then I suppose that's fine. I'm a little worried myself, though. We might actually be in trouble without the two of you."

"Captain…" Tione slouched a little.

Goodbyes were exchanged as the team separated. The only two left at the thirty-seventh floor was Aiz and Riveria.

"…I better not have to fight," Riveria grumbled.

"…Sorry," Aiz said with a heavy tone. She truly meant it. "Thanks."

Riveria only nodded. The two of them didn't need to say any other words. Besides, Aiz rarely said much as it was and Riveria was more the observation type.

Aiz drew her sword once more after her ears had picked up something only she could hear. It was something only being found by someone who was intently looking for it.

"It's here."

"What is?" asked Riveria.

She didn't need to wait long to find out. A colossal skeletal black hand sprouted out of the ground. It reached for the surface and began to drag its body upwards. A black skull rose with two protrusions sticking out of its brow like horns. It pulled itself upright until its feet could reach the surface.

It stood over ten meders tall. In its right hand was a blade made out of a sharpened black bone. In its left was a club made out of a giant monster's jawbone.

It released a howl that shook the air.

The shattered bone remains began to stir. It was as though this voice was demanding their attention. Life began to return to the skeletal warriors Aiz had slain earlier. They began to reform, pick up their weapons, and surround the two adventurers.

Udaios, the Skeleton King, a level six Monster Rex, had been reborn.

"…I'll be over here if you need me," Riveria said as she started to find an isolated spot by the room's entrance. "Don't need me."

"Not a problem," Aiz said as she lowered her stance. "I'll be done in a moment."

She fired off like a bolt. The first wave of skeletal warriors were thrashed as she plowed straight through them without slowing down. Her blade pierced through their cores with precise strikes too fast for the human eye to see.

Yet, she couldn't help but feel like she was too slow.

 _That woman's_ technique was faster. She had been nothing but a flicker when she fought against Bell Cranel.

Aiz reaffirmed her focus and drove herself harder.

In the crescendo of the battle, however, there was a sound that echoed throughout thirty-seventh floor.

It was the ringing of a chime.

Riveria thought nothing of it. She was perplexed as it was something she had never heard from the Dungeon before. But then, the Dungeon itself began to react to this sound. The monsters were behaving irradically after hearing the chime. The walls were beginning to twitch as though they were inside the belly of a monster.

There was the sound of wind bellowing followed by a flash of red.

The blacklisted Maria stepped into the center of the room. She appeared out of thin air. The monsters paid her no mind. Rather, they fell into a formation around her as though she were welcomed by the Dungeon.

"All alone, I see," she said as she unsheathed her unique weapon. "How unfortunate. Tonight, Lady Maria joins the Hunt."


	10. Chapter 10

**Dear Glenn,**

 **As my right hand, I feel like you out to know my plans on these stories. For Paleblood, I plan on getting through the entirety of what I call 'the Cainhurst arc' by Christmas. I also plan on finishing Broken Rules and Seventh by the New Year. Any and all projects after that will be up in the air.**

 **After that, I will be taking a year off from fanfiction entirely so that I can pursue my original works and FINALLY get something published. While I deeply enjoy fanfiction (and its ever _endearing_ community), I feel it is a distraction from pursuing my profession.**

 **I honestly hope you understand why I am doing this and continue to support me. I hope to see you around just as much on fictionpress as I see you here in fanfiction.**

 **On another note, I'm sorry to say but I am never going to update Throne of Shirou. Ever-ever.**

 **But... Master Fang and I did discuss something akin to a reboot. It's under construction.**

 **Hope to hear some positive feedback from you!**

 **Sincerely your overlord,**

 _ **Zyra the Great**_

 **PS, tell Aaron he can suck it.**

 **[On with the show]**

* * *

"Lil-E," Welf eyed her out. His eyes narrowed. He used all of his skill acquired from the other world and the instinct of an Old Hunter to find any expression of deception from the prum girl. She was good, he'll give her that. But he was better. She was still a few decades too young to trick him.

"Got any threes?" he asked at last.

"Go fish," she answered without blinking, staring straight into his eyes and matching his gaze.

No signs of deception. She was telling the truth as far as he could tell. Dammit all.

"Oh hey," he blinked as he drew from the pile. "I got what I wanted."

"Djura… I mean… Welf, how much longer do we have to wait?" Bell asked as he readjusted his seating. His legs were getting stiff and his rear was getting sore. Having to sit on the Dungeon's floor this long was becoming unbearable. Maybe he should get up and stretch?

Welf frowned as he put his cards down (while eying Lilly to make sure she didn't take a peak) and reached into his coat. He pulled out his ledger and a pocket watch.

"Should'a been any minute by now," he said as he compared his notes with the time. "Been down here long enough. Signs ain't showing up either."

"Signs?" Lilly looked at him. "You mean like when the Dungeon shakes?"

"Nah, that's the most obvious signs any green can figure out," he said while shifting his gaze over to Bell. "It's very similar to the Pthumerian Dungeon. The entire atmosphere of the place changes. Things quiet down to where it's like a grave."

"But we're the only ones here!" Lilly shouted, purposely making her voice echo throughout the chamber to make the point. "Lilly says it's already deathly quiet. Master Bell, are you sure we can trust this guy to guide us?"

"I told you I've been down here plenty of times!" Welf barked back.

"We already got more loot than I would have on a normal day," Bell tried to ease them both before they could break into another argument. "So even if the Monster Rex doesn't show up, we still have a good amount of magic stones and rare drops. Welf, can't you make something out of them?"

"Yeah," he replied while crossing his arms. "But nothing like what we planned. I say we give it another hour before calling it quits. We're not prepped to stay in the Dungeon for a full night."

All in all, it was still a good trip. Bell had learned more about the Dungeon in this one trip than he had in his entire career as an adventurer. Welf directed them through the secret pathways and shortcuts to get to the lower levels faster. The sight of Floor 18 was breathtaking!

Bell could probably have been able to reach this far into the Dungeon on his own. Probably. Eventually. He'd have to make multiple trips back to the surface for rations. But he was confident in his skills as a Hunter to navigate his way through and deal with the monsters efficiently.

Like what Welf said, the Orario Dungeon was frighteningly similar to the Pthumerian Dungeons.

Fortunately, with the support of an Old Hunter like Welf, formerly Djura of the Powder Kegs, they were able to plow their way through any obstacle.

…While dragging Lilly along for the ride. Even for supporters, it was recommended they be at least Level Three to reach this deep. Lilly was still only at her first Level.

"Any problems with your gear?" Welf asked after a moment. They had abandoned their game in favor of managing their own things. Welf was skimming through his ledger, Lilly was munching on a snack from her pack, and Bell was trying to clean up their mess.

Bell stacked the cards into a straight deck with his palm before thinking about the answer. "My gear? Oh! It's great! The coat fits me perfectly and I don't have any problems with my movements. You even adjusted the cuffs. I could probably hide another knife or two in there…"

Welf nodded with a slight tint of pride in his eyes, "That's good. Wasn't sure if you were still a knife wielder or not. I also lowered the collar a bit so it doesn't hinder your vision."

"What'd you make this out of?" Bell asked as he tugged on the hem of his coat.

"Adolescent Dragon hide," Welf sighed. He rubbed the back of his neck, "What a pain in the ass that was. In the end, I had to ask Tsubaki for help taming the thing before skinning it. I owe that girl a dinner now… The tanning process alone made me want to tear my hair out! But that wasn't the problem!

"See, what pisses me off the most is that nobody cared!" he snapped suddenly, leaning forward and barking at Bell. Bell had to lean away as he continued, "It was _great_ light armor! It's just as durable as Level Five medium-grade heavy armor and almost as light as elvish weaves! But that son of a bitch had to put it in the back of his shop under a pile of other crap! 'Nobody wants a jacket' he says! 'People want full plated armor!' Never mind the damn thing survived a _magic sword_ in front of his eyes!

"All those hours making it… and nobody cared…" he bowed his head and slammed his fist onto the ground a few times.

Bell scratched his cheek and laughed lightly, unsure what else to say. He could understand the reasoning with the weapons merchant. Most adventurers wanted something reliable. While the Hunter's Coat was _extremely_ reliable, it looked like a plain leather long coat to everyone else.

Welf, while an excellent blacksmith with technology and knowledge more advanced than today's time, didn't have the same recognition as his fellow _familia_ members. He didn't have permission from his goddess to label his goods with his _familia's_ crest.

"Lilly wanted to ask," Lilly spoke up. "How is it you two know each other? Master Bell introduced Lilly to you earlier this morning and told Lilly how this came to be. But what's your story?"

Bell and Welf exchanged a look. Bell had no idea how to answer that and left it up to Welf to explain. He gave him a blunt look.

"That's a hard one," Welf groaned as he put his things away where they belonged. "The Good Hunter and I aren't from Orario originally. And it's not that we really know each other. We only met up once. It was a pretty short exchange of words."

Lilly looked at Bell, expecting a more elaborate answer.

"I was kidnapped and tossed into a cell," Bell recalled. "When I came to, I had to navigate through a dungeon and fight against my jailers. That wasn't even the worse part… When I managed to break free into open land, I had to fight against a large beast the size of a house made out of skeletons and lightning!"

"Paarl," Welf supplied with a grim tone.

"You knew what it was?" Bell asked.

"Somewhat," he shrugged. "It was one of the last Darkbeasts. I didn't think it made its lair in Old Yharnam's backyard though. Good for you for taking it out. Is that how you got around my defenses?"

"Yeah," Bell nodded back. "I opened the gate and found myself in the central square. Got a little lost so I just wandered around. I thought if I climbed the tallest tower I'd find where I was and where I needed to go."

Welf snorted before leaning his head back and laughed loudly. He patted his knee a few times. "What are the odds?! I was wondering where you came from! Had you gone through the main street I would have gunned you down like the rest!"

"…I didn't know until I met you," Bell put up a smile but felt cold sweat wash over him. He remembered the sight of Djura's turret. The thing was an automatic weapon that shot armor-piercing Quicksilver Bullets dozens by the second. Bell wasn't so sure if he could dodge that kind of artillery even with his current skills and abilities.

"Where exactly is Yharnam? Lilly asked. "Lilly tried looking for it once on the atlas but couldn't find it."

Bell fell silent as he thought about it. His head raised as he tapped the bottom of his chin. Where exactly was Yharnam? He never questioned it before. He wasn't even sure if it was a real place. The Hunter's Dream was exactly what it sounded like: a dream. Perhaps Yharnam never existed in the first place or was in another plane of existence like the Upper World of the gods.

"Pretty far," Welf shrugged. "Beyond the edge of most maps and well hidden. You'd only be able to get there if you know where to look. And good riddance. It's best no one stumbles upon a place like that."

"…It's a very scary place," Bell said, following his words. "There's a disease spreading around that turns people into beasts. I don't mean mentally— well, they _were_ mad. The disease transforms them into literal monsters. Hunters like us were issued to kill them."

"…O-Oh," Lilly said and fell silent. She looked at Bell as though what he just said explained everything.

She probably thought it explained why he was so skilled with a weapon… or why he was so casual about hiding the bodies of her former _familia_ members.

"How about another round?" Welf suggested when the silence became uncomfortable. "We can play Old Maid. Loser buys drinks when we get back."

"Sure," Bell smiled, more thankful for the relief than for the entertainment. He shuffled the cards still in his hands and began to deal them out.

"Urk!" he sputtered.

"Something wrong?" Lilly asked.

"N-No… nothing…" he couldn't match her eyes as he looked at his cards.

He had the Old Maid.

Both Welf and Lilly were giving him a flat look. Welf went first, pulling one of Bell's cards while observing his expression. He didn't pull the Old Maid. Lilly took one of Welf's and Bell took his turn taking one of Lilly's. The cycle continued.

Ten minutes later, Bell was left with just two cards. The three of hearts… and the Old Maid.

Welf raised his hand over the three card. Bell let out a gasp of one who knew perilous doom. He was going to lose if Welf took his last card and left him with the Old Maid!

Welf suddenly shifted his hand over the Old Maid. Bell's smile lit up the dark and dank chamber. There was hope for him yet! He was going to win!

…Then Welf shifted over the other card and Bell returned to horror.

Welf paused in his choice while he put down his remaining card to pinch his nose. "It feels like I'm kicking a pup."

"Master Bell needs to learn the harshness of reality somehow," Lilly said, who had nothing to worry about since all her cards were finished. "Otherwise someone will take full advantage of him."

Bell felt betrayed. Just a few days ago Lilly had tried to steal his Blade of Mercy _and_ have him killed against two Old Hunters! All because he trusted her! Did she have any right to suggest something like this?!

…Actually, yes. Because _he_ was the one who fell for it.

"Yahoo~" someone called out from the other end of the chamber.

All their heads turned. A group of adventurers were coming up from the stairs leading to the next floor. There were two Amazon girls, a prum, and a pair of supporters following behind them. It was the Amazon girl with the short hair who had spotted them and waved an arm.

"Great," Welf muttered below his breath. "Competition."

He put his cards down while slowly rising to his feet. He was cautious, moving just slow enough to show he wasn't trying to threaten them. No Hunter wanted to be caught off their feet.

Lilly immediately threw her hood over her head and bowed her head, trying her best to hide her face. Welf noticed and positioned himself slightly at her front. Just enough to leave the impression he wasn't trying to hide her but willing to protect her.

Bell, however, remained sitting. He recognized these people as members of _Loki Familia_. They might think he was hostile if he stood along with Welf. It would be better to assume the position of harmlessness and naivety. Someone inexperienced like how he was supposed to be as a newbie adventurer.

"Hey, hey, look!" the Amazon girl, Tiona, tugged on the arm of her sister. "It's the Little Rabbit! Whatcha doing all the way down here?"

"It is!" Tione looked surprised. "Aren't you just a rookie? How'd you manage to make it this far down?"

"Um…" he said but couldn't find any concrete to back it up. While they had run into a few adventurers since the start of their journey, the number dwindled down the deeper they went. They hadn't run into another group since Floor Twenty-Five. This far down, they were facing against Level Four class monsters. He had no business being here as a rookie.

"Friends of yours?" Welf asked, purposely loud enough for all parties to hear and potentially change the subject.

"N-Not really," Bell slouched. "They're members of _Loki Familia._ They approached me at a tavern the other day."

"Huh, is that right…" Welf muttered as he eyed the approaching party. He waited until they were a few meders away. "Don't mind us. We're just squatting 'till the monsters show up. Grinding for some loot drops."

"Oh?" the prum, Finn, approached with a friendly smile. "Anything in particular? We come here often for some fun. We can let you know what monsters drop what and where. You're Welf Crozzo, correct?"

"Yeah…" Welf grew a little defensive as he put both his hands on his hips. "I'm not exactly a well-known blacksmith. So how do you know me?"

"Goddess Hephaestus talks about you a lot when some of our members request an order through her," was his ready answer. It was almost as if he reading a script. "Aside from that, it is hard to remain hidden when you bear the Crozzo name."

Welf accepted the answer but didn't seem satisfied.

"Captain," Tione leaned in to whisper to her leader. It wasn't missed how she used the opportunity to get close to him beyond necessary. "The Little Rabbit is just a rookie. He shouldn't be down here. Never mind Guild regulations. It's dangerous for a newbie like him."

"Yeah, yeah," agreed her sister, who wasn't quiet about it at all. "Aizu is going to be very sad if anything happens to him."

Bell wasn't sure if he was supposed to hear either of them and tried his best to pretend otherwise. He couldn't hold back the blush, however.

"I don't think there's any reason to tell the Guild about this," the prum assured them with a slightly mischievous smile.

"Captain?" blinked Tione.

"Eh?" blinked Tiona.

"The Dungeon is a perilous place," Finn raised a finger. "The deeper you go, the more dangerous the monsters. What do you think the minimum is to reach the first safe area?"

Welf exchanged a look with Bell in the corner of his vision. Bell looked back. But the two of them made sure the _Loki Familia_ members were still in sight. They both knew Finn was up to something with his questioning.

"Level Two," Tione answered plainly. "At the least. But there was no announcement in the Guild about him growing stronger. And the monsters down here require you to be at least Level Four. I don't understand, Captain."

"Well," Finn dragged out the word as he glanced at the two Hunters. "It's possible to traverse the Dungeon without confronting any monsters. All you would need is a good map, monster repellents, and a small and quick team. Did you also hear about that new method of loot farming?"

"Oh!" Tiona knocked her fist into her open hand as a flash of insight made her eyes widen. "You mean spawn killing? Killing monsters while they're still being born by the Dungeon? It's not very fun and you hardly gain any exceli though."

"Our goal today was just to find rare materials for my forge," Welf jumped in. "We know we broke many of the Guild rules. But have you seen the market price for black marrow?!"

"W-We've been careful," Bell stepped up. He wanted to plead with these people to let him stay. He gave it his all. "We've been avoiding the larger hunting parties and monsters we can't handle. But… um… w-will you tell the Guild?"

When he looked at the three adventurers, the girls flinched and looked away. He didn't know why.

"What a dangerous weapon," he heard Tione mutter below her breath. "It's almost as powerful as the Captain's."

Her sister nodded, "No wonder Aiz received a critical wound. Even I was almost hit."

Finn didn't react to Bell. He was instead considering something Welf had said prior. "Black marrow? You mean from the skeleton warriors? Those are found on the floor below. Are you taking a break before heading down there?"

The two Hunters felt the piercing glare of Lilly beneath her hood.

"W-What do you mean?" Welf coughed into the back of his hand. "Ain't this Floor Thirty-Seven?"

Finn looked up at him, "No, this is Thirty-Six. Did you by chance miscount your steps?"

Welf grumbled something incoherent while pulling out one of the many maps from his pack. He glared at it, trying to figure out where they were. He bent down when Finn approached and asked to review it with him. They had a hushed conversation explaining the various paths displayed.

"Um… how about you two?" Bell asked the Amazoness twins while Finn and Welf were busy. "Is _Loki Familia_ doing an expedition into the lower floors?"

"Nah," Tiona answered, throwing her arms behind her head. "It was our day off and were kinda bored. We like to explore the Dungeon for fun."

Bell blanched. It was such a casual answer despite being in one of the lower floors. Was this the difference between an elite adventurer and a Hunter? Bell was always on edge no matter what level he ventured through the Pthumerian Tombs. Even now, knowing Welf would have his back, he did not relax at this level in the Dungeon.

"So it's just you three?" he asked, wondering where the rest of their usual team was. It was another curiosity— to see the difference in both experience and mindset of both professions. Bell could never imagine himself being _casual_ during any district of the Hunt.

"Half of us didn't want to tag along," Tione answered with a sigh and wave of her hand. She cocked a brow when she stared at Bell. Before he could ask, she leaned forward— her face dangerously close to his— with a large smirk. "Hoh? Are you worried about us, Little Rabbit? Aiz will get jealous if you worry about us and not her."

Being this close to her made him blush. When he tried to take a step back, she pressed forward. He planted his feet when he realized he would drag the group closer to Lilly, who was doing her best to remain as unimportant as possible just like the other supporters in the area. Doing so made him a few celch too close to the Amazoness.

Amazoness girls were a lot more beautiful than the stories gave them credit for. Never mind he could count the number of times he's been this close to a girl… Once, actually. Syr liked to tease him a lot. In any case, being this close to a _really_ pretty girl made him fidget where he stood.

"I-I-I was just curious," he said while looking away. His face was burning. "A-And it's not that I'm worried about Miss Wallenstein. I know she can take care of herself."

"…So you're saying I can't take care of myself?" Tione's eyes turned blunt.

"No!" he shouted in plea. "That's not what I meant! I'm sure you're a great adventurer! You're one of the top members of _Loki Familia_!"

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. She stared at him in a long silence. It made him break out into cold sweat.

Suddenly, she smirked.

She was teasing him!

He dipped his head while his face turned scarlet. It was one thing to be teased by Syr… and Lilly… and Hestia… and Eina… and—

Okay. _Every_ girl he met teased him. But still!

—It was one thing to be teased by them, it was another to be teased by an almost-stranger. This would be the first time he engaged in conversation with the Amazoness. This wasn't the sort of impression he wanted to make with her, specifically as a member of _Loki Familia_ and teammate of Aiz Wallenstein. Just what will Tione tell the Sword Princess after this encounter?!

He looked over to Welf, begging with his eyes for the older man to help him out.

Welf gave him a disappointed look; he wanted to sigh but held it in. Bell couldn't understand why. He folded up the map and straightened himself. "Thank you for the information. Appreciate it. Sorry but we gotta cut this short before things get a little harder for us."

"Eh? You're going deeper down?" Tiona asked. Her eyes lit up as she pumped a fist into her palm. "This works out! Aizu is up ahead! This will be the perfect chance for her and the Little Rabbit to get some time! Maybe a flag will be raised!"

Bell's heart skipped a beat. The Sword Princess was up ahead? She was the next Floor down? He fidgeted where he stood. He hadn't been prepared for this. He wasn't mentally prepared. What if he ran into her? He shouldn't. Floors were such huge areas that only got bigger the lower one ventured. But on the off-chance she did? Especially when they were heading towards the Monster Rex chamber? She would, without a doubt, hear the chorus of battle and meet them there.

"Captain," Tione crossed her arms as she voiced her concerns. "Are you sure it's okay to let them through? I don't know anything about this Crozzo guy but the Little Rabbit alone…"

"They managed this far," Finn supplied with a smile. "Besides, if anything gets out of hand, I'm sure Aiz will come to the rescue. She likes to do that often. And she'll drag Riveria along with her."

This was not the words of an elite adventurer in regards for a newbie like Bell. There was something else in Finn's voice. Confidence. Faith. Truth. Finn believed in Bell enough to know he will not fall here and now. He believed Bell wouldn't need any support.

Bell looked at him. Finn looked back and offered a smile. There was calculation in his eyes that betrayed his innocent façade. There was more behind the charming and lax prum that met the eye.

"Oh!" Tiona spoke up. "I get it now! It's because he's this Good Hunter like you said! Isn't it?"

Both Bell's and Welf's head snapped at her. She caught their reaction and blinked. When the weight of her words fully registered, their heads slowly turned back towards Finn.

He kept smiling, never breaking character.

Finn… knew something. He knew Bell. He knew Bell was a Hunter.

But… whose side was he on?

They didn't question him, though the accusations were on the tip of their tongues and resonated through their muscles— ready to draw their weapons if needed. Instead, something else drew their attention as though the Dungeon itself wanted to avoid this confrontation.

The light chime of a bell rang throughout the chamber. It echoed and traveled past them, gaining their attention. It was a sound unheard of to any adventurer.

But the sound was known well to any Hunter. There were three types of chimes a Hunter knew. The most common came from the Beckoning Bell, to which the Hunter would ring and call upon help from other Hunters. Seldom, a Hunter would respond by ringing a Resonating Bell and join the Hunter no matter where they were.

But the third, most rare, and most disastrous of the ringing came from a Sinister Bell. This bell would beckon a Hunter… to hunt other Hunters.

The Hunt had forced Bell to remember each and every ring down to his core. It determined whether the thing approaching was friend or foe.

And this chime came from the floor up ahead.

"That's…" Welf breathed out. His hand immediately went to the large sword at his back.

"Captain?" Tione inquired as she saw Finn's face harden. She readied herself for battle. "What was that? I've never heard that before."

Finn didn't answer. Not right away. His face was full of focus as he brought his thumb up to his lips. He said nothing as he studied the hallway, waiting for an enemy to appear.

Things flashed through Bell's mind. An invading Hunter rarely appeared before him. More often than not, he had to play the game of prey and predator with them. An enemy Hunter would appear anywhere in the district he was roaming. They could appear around any corner, hidden under any shadow, or wait in the middle of the road he couldn't avoid.

This Hunter was up ahead, based on the resonance of the Sinister chime. It meant they were on the lower floor.

…As well as Aiz Wallenstein.

"Good Hunter! Wait!"

As soon as he came to this conclusion, he bolted. His legs kicked off the ground, leaving an impression of his foot onto the Dungeon's soil. His body was a blur of mist and ash as he activated _Quickening_ with every step. They couldn't stop him. They couldn't follow him in time.

He dove straight down the stairs and into the next floor.

0-0-0

Something was different, Maria mused. The Sword Princess had been surprised but for only a split moment. After that, her fortitude hardened and she readied herself for battle. She did not look overwhelmed by this ambush. Rather, she looked… pleased.

She was probably desiring to fight this Monster Rex alone, to test her mettle and grow stronger after the triumph. But with Maria arriving, well, the girl could now prove herself to the one who had defeated her twice.

Maria will admit the first time was a little unfair. She, Ludwig, and Gehrman all assaulted the _Loki Familia_ camp with their drawers down. They had hit them before a proper defense could be issued. And by the time the alarms went off and their forces could be organized, the critical blow had already been dealt. Most of their leaders had been wounded, their pride most of all.

The first time Maria faced Aiz, the girl had hardly lifted her weapon. Maria wasn't a warrior, especially not a knight of honor. She was a _Hunter._ There was no honor when a beast couldn't decipher friend from foe.

The second time was less favorable. The girl was wounded after the prior skirmish. She was exhausted. Even if she was the one who challenged Maria, she could hardly defend herself in the counter. Her wounds caught up to her.

But now? Well, they say third time's the charm.

Maria… actually found herself pressed.

"Awaken," Aiz Wallenstein announced. Such a soft voice. A voice belonging to a maiden who should remain indoors. The voice of a doll who should wear pretty skirts and never need to lift a sword. It didn't belong on the field of battle.

And yet, her voice made her sword come alive.

Magic thrived as wind cycled around her sword. A miniature storm gathered around the blade. The ignition alone blew the skeletal monsters near her into dust.

Maria hadn't seen this during any of their skirmishes. It wasn't her style to wait and see what hidden cards her opponents could pull. If she had the opportunity to strike down her foe, then she would take it. That was the way of a true Hunter. And she had taken that opportunity both times against the Sword Princess.

Honestly, she should have ignored Oedon's orders and killed the little wench. She wouldn't need to be here thrice otherwise.

Maria's garments weren't designed for magic protection. So when Aiz fired off like a bullet and slammed her sword against her Rakuyo, the magical application of the bustling winds felt more like a Cleric Beast throwing its entire body against her. Her face was carved as the wind shoved her off her feet.

A simple _Quickening_ planted her feet back to the floor. The blood trickled down her face as she readjusted her previous impression of the girl. She had skill and, evidently, she had power. It made up for the lack of experience compared to some of the things Maria had seen.

Unfortunately, knowing what was to come couldn't protect Maria. Aiz followed after her and brought her weapon again for another strike. Maria was forced to _Quicken_ away. The next swipe created a gorge of sundered earth, blasting away Dungeon flooring as well as a wave of skeletons twenty yards across.

The pursuit did not stop there. It didn't matter if the skeletons fought for her due to the Sinister Bell. It didn't matter if the Monster Rex created more skeletons or would eventually join the fight itself. Aiz Wallenstein was something Maria could not fight under these conditions. Not only did the blade pierce through all of her defenses, but the blade also protected her in an armor of wind.

She knew she was outmatched. All the proof she needed was the elf. The woman towards the front entrance remained sitting with her staff resting against her lap. Though she watched intently, she showed no signs of stepping into the fray.

If things were to continue on like this, then Maria would be forced back into the Hunter's Den. Her mission would fail.

Worse than failure and facing Oedon's wrath, Micolash would never let it down.

Udaios, the Monster Rex, strolled forward and brought a colossal hand across the field. Its skeletal minions either moved out of the way or were shattered by its sudden speed. With claws digging into the earth, a tremor surged forward towards the two of them. Blessings from the Sinister Bell granted Maria immunity from any carnage wrought by the monsters. But the same could not be said about Aiz.

The Sword Princess was forced to dodge out of the way. The speed of a high-tier adventurer was truly admirable. She moved just as quickly as a Hunter through _Quickening_.

Had the girl grown since last they met? Or had Maria struck her down before any of these feats could be observed?

Udaios charged forward, bringing its scepter down as well. Black energy blew out of the gem at the tip, creating a concussive shockwave as soon as it struck the ground.

Aiz brought her sword around and struck against the black wall of raw force. Her wind triumphed, carving through it as though it were fabric. She launched herself forward and stabbed her thin blade into the shoulder of the Monster Rex.

An explosion of wind tore the limb off of the Monster Rex. The beast howled more in outrage than agony. The curiosity whether this creature felt pain at all was brushed to the back of Maria's mind. There was something far more pressing at the moment.

The interference of the Monster Rex bought her time. She regained her composition and reevaluated her situation. As she was now, there was nothing she could do that could harm Aiz Wallenstein. That wind ability was too troublesome.

There was only one option, then.

Maria spun both blades of her Rakuyo around and plunged them into her abdomen.

When her eyes met Aiz, who was still watching Udaios in the corner of her eye, they were full of shock and confusion. A number of assumptions and questions flashed through her eyes. Why had Maria done this? Was this a trick? Was she giving up? These were the sorts of things Maria read.

The elf stirred where she sat. The staff was raised with the butt resting on the ground. Her grip on it tightened as her eyes narrowed.

"I was wrong about you," Maria spoke so calmly and unlabored as though she were still at the peak of her health. "I see now why Oedon finds _Loki Familia_ as a nuisance. It's best to rip this at its root before the weed can spread."

Maria stood tall as she ripped her blades out of her body, creating a massive gash in the process. Blood flowed freely through her suit and dripped along the edge of her weapons. There was so much blood— more than enough to debilitate a normal person and kill them in a matter of seconds.

Yet, Maria took her steps with as much grace as ever before.

She _Quickened_ , this time advancing rather than retreating. With both blades arching diagonally and a trail of blood following after them, she attacked Aiz.

The girl's eyes widened further but instinct kicked in. She raised her weapon in a proper defense. It was at the perfect angle to block both swipes of the katana and dagger.

However… Maria's blood coating the blades allowed them to pierce through Aiz's protections. They tore through the wind like fabric.

Aiz's eyes widened with heavy disbelief. But it was her instincts as an adventurer kicking in that saved her. While her mind could not fathom the idea of her magic failing her, her body was already moving. She twisted herself to the side and adjusted the angle of her sword to parry rather than block.

A fatal blow was avoided, but the swing was too ahead to fully avoid. While the steel of the Rakuyo clashed against Aiz's Desperate, the blood continued to stream forward like the liquid that it was.

Bladed liquid, if such a concept existed. It cut into the Sword Princess' shoulder and arm better than any blade possible.

The girl's mind registered the pain. Maria could read this through her eyes. She ignored it. She kept moving, pushing everything into a counter attack while plotting a way around this new ability.

"What curiosity drives you so recklessly?" Maria asked before the next confrontation could begin.

Their swords clashed again and again. Aiz was smooth and graceful in her footing and in her strikes. Every swing was one stroke being chained for the maximum effect. It spoke how many hours she spent in training to create this concept and then sharpening it in the field of battle. Truly, as Maria was the ideal Hunter, Aiz Wallenstein was the ideal adventurer.

Yet, Maria could not help but pity the girl. Maria was something more than just a Hunter, as loath as she was to admit it. She was a descendant from the Cainhurst royalty. Her cursed blood was a weapon of itself.

With every clash, the blood coating her weapons sprinkled and splashed out. Every droplet was as sharp as needles and blades. Each carved into the Wallenstein girl no matter what defense she put up. If she chose to distance herself, Maria would swing at the open air and let the trail of blood reach her. The results were always the same.

There was also the gift of the Sinister Bell. The monsters of the Dungeon were her allies. Such including the Monster Rex.

Udaios rampaged whenever Aiz found a break in Maria's assaults. The Monster Rex breathed out a miasma of toxicity and curses. Those could be thwarted by Aiz's magic, but such cost focus and effort, if not a lick of time. Even a fragment of this sacrificed effort was more than enough for Maria to abuse— to either strike at a weakness or position herself anew.

 **"Harbringer of the end, the white snow…"** the elf's voice echoed throughout the chamber.

It didn't take a genius to figure out what she was trying to do. All of the warmth of the room was being drained. Power, like an electrical storm and second sun, was rising out of the elf's staff and her inner core. She was drawing upon her magic to support her teammate. No longer will she remain idle.

It was to be expected. It was what Maria would have done if another Hunter was present.

Alas for the both of them, Oedon sent her and not the others. The Old One knew she was more than enough for these two.

 **"Blow with the wind before the twilight,"** she continued. More cold was approaching. Frost began to gather around her feet. Her strategy was to freeze the area, to freeze the blood Maria was using as a weapon. Very intuitive. Clever. But…

Maria sheathed Rakuyo into its hilt. She crouched with her legs spread and body twisted. Her hand gripped tight on its hilt.

Aiz either knew this drawing stance or something similar to it. Those of the Far East held similar fighting styles to the Cainhurst knights. She adjusted her footing and raised her sword. She positioned herself between Maria and the elf. She meant to use herself as a shield no matter what so the elf may finish her incantation.

How suicidal. She meant to sacrifice herself if it meant to stop Maria? Foolish. Disappointing.

It was a shame Maria had no intention of going through her. As promising as it was to slay the Sword Princess here and now… she didn't want to be weakened or possibly defeated by the elf's magics.

When Maria drew out her blade, it was not in a forward stroke. Blood whipped out as she kicked off the ground, flying straight up into the air. She manipulated the blood of her sword, forcing it to compel her upwards, lifting her up several meters up. She floated there for a split second.

Both of the adventurer's eyes widened as they realized what shall happen next.

Swinging the dagger behind, a bubble of blood burst behind her, propelling Maria towards the elf. She flew like a cannonball through the air. There was nothing that could stop her as she raised her katana over her head and swung down with perfect timing.

An explosion of blood tore the surroundings apart. Red liquid and dust blew everywhere.

"Riveria!" Aiz shouted. It was the first time Maria had ever heard such emotion from the girl.

There was a chance. There was a chance the elf, Riveria, could survive. How many beasts had Maria 'slain', only to have them rise up and take one of her party members? These adventurers were rather formidable. They were durable. Who was to say they couldn't survive a direct attack like this?

There was resistance coming from her blade. Maria didn't need to see through the cloud of dust to know. Intuition told her Riveria had survived the strike. Power continued to course through her. She intended to finish her spell to the very end.

Admirable. Truly.

But while the elf had impressive defenses on her body and clothes, Maria had yet to find any creature just as fordable at the eyes.

It had only been an instant since Maria dug her blade into the collar of the elf who refused to die.

In the next instant, she swiped her dagger across Riveria's face. Her dagger was too thick to pierce through the eye socket and couldn't pierce completely through the skin and get to the brain. But she could blind the creature. And the pain… is excruciating.

Riveria couldn't withhold the scream. All the power she had gathered suddenly flared. Her skin brightened.

Perhaps… Maria had made a mistake.

An explosion not unlike the one the Good Hunter's knife created came directly from Riveria's core. It did not destroy her body but rather erupted through her skin in a magical shockwave. Maria, with armor lacking in arcana defense, received a wholesome blow at point-blank. She was thrown away with her vision blurring by black dots.

Her body crashed against a gathering of black skeletons. It did not cushion her fall. Splintered bones dug into her back but never penetrated her suit. She wanted to stand immediately, but her body wouldn't listen. It was too shocked from the magical concussion.

When she eventually stood, she had expected to be bombarded by a myriad of assaults from the Sword Princess. Instead, there was nothing. She was surrounded by the monsters with the Monster Rex towering behind her in a protective slouch.

Aiz Wallenstein cradled her comrade, who clutched her staff throughout the pain and bleeding sockets. The elf was leaning against her while Aiz raised her sword in a protective gesture.

No longer was she willing to fight to defeat Maria. She was going to fight to flee.

This mission was a failure. The Sword Princess was going to flee at first chance. Once this happened, she will report to her team. They will learn of Maria's capabilities. They will be better prepared. Possibly, they will be able to put her down.

So be it. Oedon did not want this one dead for reasons Maria didn't dare to question. But if the entire purpose of the Hunters would be put in jeopardy by this, then it would be best to put them both down. No more toying. No more striking fear into _Loki Familia_. No more annoying _warnings_.

Maria would use her cursed blood to its fullest.

"MARIA!"

Her heart skipped a beat at the sudden wave of killing intent. Her heart swooned. Her heart wanted to leap for joy. Excitement filled through her. Joy flowed. It was like when Gehrman had found her and given her a home all over again.

This killing intent… it was so potent. It was nauseating and suffocating. Why, even the Monster Rex behind her shivered and took a half-step back.

Bell Cranel stood at the foot of the entrance. His eyes were blazing. He had taken a short glance at the room and understood the full story. He understood Maria had arrived through a Sinister Bell and had assaulted his woman.

She would have been disgusted if not for this amount of killing intent. True, he promised a gruesome death because she had harmed something he cared dearly for— this part she despised as it was furthest from the ideal quality of a Hunter. But it was the killing intent itself! This! This wasn't around when last they met!

This was the mindset of the Good Hunter from the Nightmare!

"Bell Cranell," she breathed out like a lost love. Emotions teased her. With it, her killing intent matched his. "You remember."

At last. At last! At last she can exact her vengeance!

0-0-0

 _You remember_.

There was no denying he remembered everything. Everything. All of it he didn't want to. It was more than their fight in the Clock Tower. It was more than her warning to stop him from advancing and he defying her.

He remembered the Fishing Hamlet. He saw what the Church had done. And there, washed up on the beach at the furthest edge of the village, was the greatest sin he wasn't meant to see. There he saw the thing Maria had tried to stop him from learning.

The death of innocence. The death of an Old One.

 _Kos, or some say Kosm, do you hear our prayers?_

Kos, the Mother of the Cosmos, lay dead.

He couldn't understand it at the time. All he thought was the Healing Church had arrived at this village who had been infected with Beasthood. He thought they were butchering innocents. He thought they had murdered a god. But… they had done more than that.

The Church had created a curse. Upon killing this Old One had they invoked its wrath and that of the village's survivors. The Nightmare had been created. Every Hunter who partook in this raid were trapped in the Nightmare, to forever relive this maddened day. Every Hunter after them. And their children. And their children's children. And on. And on. And on.

Bell was no exception.

It was only from killing the Orphan— a bastard born from the corpse of Kos— was he able to escape the Nightmare.

But not Ludwig, who he slew as a monster.

And not Maria, who he murdered out of curiosity alone.

 _A corpse should be left well alone_ , she had said.

Awakened now, with both the memories of a Hunter and an adventurer, he understood. Seeing Kos like that was more than the death of the village's god. It was more than a pagan and blasphemous idol.

What the Healing Church had done was equal to Bell strangling Hestia with his own hands.

He gripped the Blade of Mercy as he stepped forward. Monsters continued to spawn by the Monster Rex's miasma. Shattered bone and dust were reforming into skeleton warriors. He can tell from a glance alone they were all Level Four with the Monster Rex being Level Six.

They meant nothing to him. His eyes were only for Lady Maria.

"Get out of here," he said to his crush and her teammate as he moved past them.

A hand latched onto the hem of his coat. Aiz had stopped him. He never looked her way, never daring to look away from Maria.

"Is that…?" Riveria croaked through her shut eyes. "The Rabbit? What are you doing down here?! You're the one who needs to leave before she kills you!"

"Even if I do, she's after me most of all," he said assuredly. "She won't let me. You should go while I have her attention. But don't worry. I won't die. I've killed her before."

Across the floor, Maria dipped her head slightly. Her eyes sharpened. She was already in her second phase and was readying herself for his approach.

From the pocket of his duster did he pull out a dark-brown pellet. It was a congealed marble of beast's blood— unoriginally named Beast Blood Pellet— that he pried out of the pockets of Gascoigne and Henryk. Parallel to Blood Vials containing the parasite that turned men into beasts, the Beast Pellet did not enhance his regeneration abilities. They instead heightened all of his senses and boosted his metabolism. Like the name, they drew any who took them as close to Beasthood as was possible without full transformation.

Bell popped it into his mouth and crunched down. Immediately as soon as the flakes touched his tongue did he feel its effects.

He let out a Beast Roar, a shockwave of pure sound that blew away the dust and the first twenty skeleton warriors in front of him. It created a clearing as the monsters were shoved back.

The sound of a monster's roar coming out of his throat made Aiz Wallenstein's grip loosen. He didn't dare to think what expression she wore at the moment.

He launched forward, _Quickening_ straight into the hoard of skeleton warriors. The Blade of Mercy was a silver streak as it cleaved through both metal swords and obsidian bone. The Trick Weapon forged of alien metal was more than enough to break through whatever made them real.

What's more, the skeleton warriors felled did not get up again.

Maria met him, _Quickening_ as well to match his speed. Her katana clashed against his. The nook of the Blade of Mercy locked her katana in place. For a split second, he released the Blade in order to escape the trail of blood continuing to move forward by the momentum of her swing. The bladed blood missed him completely.

She brought her dagger around. He stepped in close, circling around her swing and dodging the blood following. She pivoted her body around to avoid his fist to her liver. The katana was brought around, hurling the Blade of Mercy around with it. Bell kicked the hilt of his sword, knocking her swing upward.

They both _Quickened_ once he grabbed ahold of his weapon. More sparks flew when they next clashed. Blood carved through the territory. Silver crushed black bones. The area around them did not matter. The monsters were secondary as the two Hunters clashed.

Maria combined her weapons together while pulling out her pistol. While she swung her Rakuyo at Bell, while they danced together to get around the other's defense, she was looking for a point to shoot him. He kept up his defense, dodging her blood streaks while parrying her sword with one hand. His other hand rested behind his back under his cloak, grabbing onto something she couldn't see.

Neither of the two were flawless in their defenses, however.

Gashes appeared across of both their bodies. Miniscule cuts to hindering wounds. Their pristine Hunter garments were being reduced to shredded rags. It was a battle of attrition to see which one would fall under a thousand cuts.

After the hundredth engagement, Maria found her opening. She withdrew her pistol and fired.

Bell saw her take aim. With his Blade locked with her Rakuyo, he withdrew his other hand. The Oedon Knife blazed with red Caryll Runes. He didn't need to be faster than her bullet, though there was no doubt he could have been under the enhancement of the Beast Pellet— he only needed to know where she was aiming at.

The knife deflected her Quicksilver Bullet just as simply as her other strikes. The stray bullet pierced through the skull of a random skeleton warrior.

Their battle continued. They both pocketed their secondary weapons at the same time, almost in perfect sync as though trained with the same fighting style, and knocked their Trick Weapons. The Rakuyo and the Blade of Mercy split apart simultaneously.

They continued to fight, endlessly _Quickening_ to the point they were never in the same spot longer than a second. The two of them were nothing but ash and mist as they exchanged blow after blow. Some struck. Others missed. The rest were deflected, or parried, or blocked, or feinted.

Blades and guns were not their only weapons. Hunters do not fight honorably. They rammed into each other, throwing their shoulders or the occasional kick. They butted heads, spat, and tried to knock the other off balance. Maria had lost her hat at some point while Bell had to abandon his pack when she latched onto it.

But no matter how fiercely they fought, it was a stalemate. There would be no victor at this rate.

Maria was the one who disengaged and _Quickened_ several meders away. Bell did not pursue. His breathing was extremely labored and his heart was hammering. He was sweating, unlike Maria who had endless stamina thanks to the Sinister Bell. She was really nothing more than a phantom.

He took this moment to pop another Beast Pellet into his mouth. Its drugging effects were reinforced.

Maria stood straight with her arms slightly apart from her body, her weapons pointing outwards. She took a deep breath as she lifted her head.

He knew what was to come next.

The skeletons all collapsed as the Dungeon itself _breathed_. A dark flame from each skeleton appeared from their core. The magic stones keeping them alive shattered. The flames traveled, gathering around Lady Maria, cycling around her and compressing into herself.

The Monster Rex let out a sigh as the life was drained out of it. Its body collapsed in the same way a building would topple over. The ground shook at its death while the brightest and hottest flame of life went towards Maria.

"Everyone!" he heard Welf through his tunnel vision. He briefly wondered at what point did he arrive. _Loki Familia_ must also be with him. "Get back!"

Power exploded out of Maria at the climax of her technique, whatever it was. Phantasmal winds blew his duster and hair around. He had seen this move before. She had used it when he had pushed her into a corner at the Clock Tower. When she was at her most desperate, she was willing to sacrifice everything to stop him.

This time was different. She was going to sacrifice everything not to stop him— not to grant him a death so horrendous he would think again about challenging her in the next life. She was going to _end_ him forever true.

He tossed one of the Blades onto the tip of the other and flicked his wrist. They latched onto each other and clicked shut. It was a performance he had done countless times and had mastered both leisurely and in the heat of battle. With his other hand, he pulled out the Oedon Knife. He crossed the blades together to ready himself.

Maria did not hesitate to initiate the next assault.

She swung the katana underhand. An almost casual gesture. The sword sang and would never hope to hit him. The trail of blood followed after and fell short.

But the blood ignited into bright flames. A great inferno was heading towards him.

0-0-0

"What… the… hell…" Tione gasped as she watched.

Aiz probably would have never said it. But she pouted slightly when Tione had voiced the exact words she struggled to find. Her observations of the brawl had left her… blank.

Even Riveria, as blind as she was, was silent as she kept aware of the fight through her extra senses. A lack of sight did not hinder her. There was something about the elves that let them see things humans could never hope to comprehend. It was in their blood to understand nature magic, whatever that was in comparison to normal magic.

Riveria's grip on her staff was tightening to the point her knuckles were white. Aiz was pretty sure it had nothing to do with the pain.

"Captain…" Tiona said quietly while she watched Bell and Maria fight to the death. "Shouldn't we do something? This is a high-value target. What if…"

What if Bell loses? That's what Tiona wanted to say.

Aiz didn't dare to look at Finn. The grim voice gave her an image of his expression.

"If there's anybody who can defeat Lady Maria," Finn spoke with a blend of guilt, reluctance, and the desire to do more, "it is the Good Hunter. I believe in Master Cranell."

Her heart stopped when Maria sheathed her weapon. Bell froze in place. She expected Maria to launch up in the air and create another explosion— this time leagues more devastating with this fire affinity. Instead, she unleashed a quickdraw, bringing about a _beam_ of burning blood as instantaneous as a flash.

Bell had moved, tracing her arm movements scant frames before the blade was fully out of the scabbard. He vanished into smoke with that strange technique and dodged out of the way. Hadn't he, he would have been incinerated like the gaping hole out of the side of the Dungeon wall.

"Finn," Riveria growled. "What… Just what are these Hunters? Where do they come from? How can they be just as powerful as we adventurers? What is Oedon?"

Aiz blinked. The way Riveria was asking… It suggested she was accusing more than asking. Finn knew something— that was the tone Riveria was suggesting. He knew more than rumors and stories like when he previously shared about these Hunters.

"Are you sure you should be asking something like that?" the stranger with red hair asked. "This ain't something we should be leisure about. Ask later, like when we're out of the crossfire later."

There was fear and astonishment in his voice. He, someone who had to be equal or close to in rank as Bell to be in his company, was giving advice to a highly experienced adventurer. He was either aware of Bell's prowess or had similar experiences of his own to be able to say such things.

Was he just as skilled as Bell? Did he too wield hidden potential not belonging to an adventurer?

Oh yes, Aiz had experienced more than enough with these Hunters to understand they were apart from adventurers. More than just tactics and habits. They were a class of themselves. Just as how adventurers gained power through exceli and the falna ritual of their patron gods, it was just as possible the Hunters gained similar power through alternative means.

Her conclusion: Bell Cranell was a Hunter before becoming an adventurer. While he may be a newbie as an adventurer, he was already formidable by his experiences as a Hunter.

If he slaying a Minotaur was not proof enough, the constant explosion of blood fire meders in front of her face silenced any skepticism she had before.

With Maria's next strike, Bell unleashed another terrifying howl. Aiz could not deny the sound terrified her— it was as though Bell himself were an Irregular Monster. Yet, whatever he did, he forced the inferno of blood fire to swirl around him and prevent him from harm.

His clothes were in tatters. The dragon-leather coat was torn with patches exposed. Underneath lay blackened skin from Maria's assaults. Yet Bell was ignoring these wounds. He kept at it, constantly bombarding her with attacks of his own by underhanded tricks and the slashing of his mechanical sword.

She saw him put those medicinal pellets into his mouth. Every time he did, he became a little more… savage. His attacks became fiercer. He was losing his grace in exchange for brutality. When his stamina was waning, those pellets reinvigorated him.

Despite this shift in technique, his skill never faltered. To compare… it was like whenever Gareth overindulged in drink. Her dwarf commander was not a better or worse fighter when sober or drunk. He was simply… different.

It was this shift that was confusing Maria. Her own skill was impressive enough to meet with his. But the more pellets he chewed, the more she was pressed.

At the same time, the more he ate the pellets, the less time he had before needing to take another. Like with Gareth, who said the adrenaline of battle forced him to sober quickly, the labor of Bell's body was pushing the drug through his system faster than it could settle. It was possible the exhaustion was burning it more than digesting.

This battle was a stalemate. Neither one of the two were better than the other unless one made a fatal mistake. And with their level of skill— a god's arkanum would need to plant a rock unsuspecting under their foot and have them trip. Would that even be enough? They seemed more than capable of recovering from that.

Aiz didn't realize she was clutching her Desperate so tightly until a gentle hand from Riveria told her. The muscles were stiff. She struggled to loosen the grip.

What was this she was feeling? Hopelessness?

It had been a long time since she had felt this. She hadn't felt this… not since wanting to become an adventurer as a little girl. Not since the One Eyed Black Dragon stole everything away from her. Not since all the work she could find was as a Supporter.

This was how she was feeling right now. How she wanted to leap into the battle and help Bell. More than just support him. She wanted to stand at his side. She had a vendetta against this woman for being stronger than her. But now, someone she had admired was fighting on her behalf because of her failure as an adventurer.

It hurt her pride. But she knew she couldn't assist him. Not as she was now. After all, her Aerial did nothing against the Hunter's blood magic. It would do even less against this hellfire.

Her heart stopped.

A blast of fire erupted out of Bell's back. He did not cry out. The flames were too hot for him to feel anything as Maria's katana pierced through his stomach and exited out of his back.

"MASTER BELL!" the Supporter prum screamed in despair.

Aiz almost took off. Almost launched herself at the woman as a wave of emotion soared through her. A heat unlike any other blazed through her heart.

Riveria's grip held her firm.

She didn't understand. Not Riveria's actions. Aiz's attention was locked on Maria. The woman was neither jovial nor disappointed by the fatal blow. Her eyes shone with understanding… as if she had made a critical error.

It had been. In the next instant, Bell drove both of his jagged blades through her. He drove them upwards in what she knew had pierced the woman's lungs and heart.

The two stood still, leaning against each other's weapons. Maria leaned in to Bell and whispered something into his ear. He didn't react any further than a blink.

Both retched their weapons out of the other. Blood flowed furiously out of their wounds.

"Well met… Bell Cranell," Maria cackled with a sneer of insult. "May you find your worth in the Waking World."

She fell to her knees, dropping her weapons and clutching her wound. Her body began to blink in and out, turning transparent. The more she slouched, the more her body faded away like mist. She vanished in the same way she had appeared. It was as though she was never truly here in the first place.

Nobody moved until the dual swords fell out of Bell's hands. He remained standing, staring directly at where Maria had fallen. His torso was slouched, slowing most of the blood from his abdomen but spreading the wound out of his back. If his organs were secure, then the blood loss will end him.

He did not move. His eyes were out of focus. He was unconscious where he stood.

"Take me to him," Riveria ordered. "Now!"

Aiz did not hesitate. She guided Riveria through the pile of black dust left by the monsters. The terrain was uneven courtesy of Maria's blood attacks and the Monster Rex's rampage.

"M-Master Bell!" the prum screamed some more as she rushed forward. She was no faster than Aiz and Riveria while she traversed the awkward floor with her large pack. She abandoned it, but not before digging through its contents and retrieving healing potions and gauze. "Here! Please take this! Please save Master Bell! Please!"

"None of that will do any good," the red-haired stranger spoke grimly. He approached while rummaging through his satchel.

"W-What do you know?!" the prum screamed in a frenzy. She was panicking. Her partner was on the verge of death.

"More than you do, Lil-E," he said calmly while brushing by Aiz.

From his pack… he pulled out the same red vial Maria had given her during Monstephilia.

"Aiz, why did you—" Riveria was going to ask why she stopped when she sensed her hesitation.

Aiz watched as the man approached Bell, studied his wounds for a brief instant, and pulled out two more vials when he realized it wasn't enough. He uncapped them, revealing needles for injection underneath. With practiced hands, he jammed all three into Bell's back right above the gaping wound.

The red liquid entered his skin and Aiz saw the boy's insides regenerate before her eyes. Innards and ribs were growing and adjusting while muscle was reknitting. It wasn't until his skin was starting to stretch did—

"YYEEEAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOWWWWWW!"

…Did Bell scream in alarming agony.

And then pass out once again. Flat on his face.

0-0-0

Annoyance crossed through Maria as soon as she opened her eyes. Her legs were stiff from having to sit like this, despite being on a number of cushions. Her body was unconscious while her psyche had created a projection through the Sinister Bell resting on her desk.

The Doll, vessel of Oedon, was sitting on the chair across of her.

"Did you know the Good Hunter would be there?" she asked, holding back the sharp tone. She wouldn't dare to accuse the Old One of anything.

The Doll tilted its head slightly, feigning human wonderment, "I did not. Does this mean you have found him?"

Maria's lower lip twitched. Only once. She controlled her emotions.

The Doll was playing ignorant? Maria recognized the knife Bell had used. It was the same one he had used during the Monsterphilia incident. And it had exploded into a thousand fragments when it couldn't register all of the Blood Echoes in his soul.

She also saw the Caryll Runes etched into the blade instead of whatever witchcraft runes native to these lands he had used before. Only a Hunter with the right equipment to make Trick Weapons _and_ an Altar could implement Caryll Runes to that degree.

"He was protecting Aiz Wallenstein of _Loki Familia_ ," Maria chose to answer. "We at least know she means something to him. We can lure him out through her."

The Doll did not say anything as it remained still. Maria could not read its emotions— that was the problem she hated with the Doll. People she can understand. Even the rampant beasts. But never the Doll. She didn't like what she couldn't understand.

"This will do," the Doll said eventually. It stood and went towards the door without any further word.

"Wait."

The Doll stopped and craned its head over its shoulder. It almost looked curious and concerned. Almost.

"The Good Hunter is my prey," Maria declared. "I will be the one who will make him pay for what he's done."

"…May you find your worth in the Waking World," the Doll offered. It was permission. With that said, it excused itself from Maria's room.

0-0-0

His head was ringing. Did he get dragged into drinking with his goddess and Miach again? His bones ached, he was thirsty beyond pain, and his brain was swishing around as though in the middle of a storm.

Bell opened his eyes to a dimly lit room. He recognized the wooden ceiling anywhere.

His eyes immediately went to the right.

Red and blue eyes met.

"We must stop meeting like this, Mister Cranel," Lyu said meticulously as she wringed out the water of a cloth and soon approached the bed. She placed it over his brow.

"Oh. Hey there, Lyu," he said weakly but still offered his best smile. It didn't feel like much with how tired he felt. "Please tell me I didn't lose my swords again."

"Is that concern or fear for you to ask about those rather than something else?" she asked dryly.

"Fear," he said straight away with more vigor than before. "Definitely fear."

Lyu studied him briefly. "I see. You'll be happy to know they are in safe keeping here in the Benevolent Mistress. Finn Deimne of _Loki Familia_ explicitly requested we hide them while you recover. We would have delivered them to your goddess but she is busy at the moment dealing with the Guild."

"Huh?" Bell blinked a few times. "Guild? Hestia is? Why? What's going on?"

"There's been a report to the Guild that a certain rabbit ventured too far into the Dungeon without permission," she said simply.

He grimaced as he sank his head into the pillow. Word got out anyways. Go figure. Someone from _Loki Familia_ probably blabbed. He shouldn't blame them. They were only doing something reasonable. He was still a Level One adventurer roaming around in a Level Four area! He couldn't argue with them considering he nearly died.

Granted, he mopped the floor of any monster that came at him and was really done in by Lady Maria. But still! Rules are rules for a reason.

"Ah, what about my party members?" Bell asked.

"I don't know the full details," Lyu answered as she pulled out a stool to sit at his bedside. "I do know both _Hephaestus Familia_ and _Soma Familia_ have been notified. However… I believe _Loki Familia_ will taking responsibility for the violation fees the Guild will charge. At least, this was promised by Deimne. If not from his _familia_ then by his own pocket. I do not trust him so I cannot say for certain."

Bell stared up at the ceiling as he thought. Truth be told, he knew nothing about the prum captain. Sure, he knew his reputation as an adventurer and had talked to him scarcely enough to have an impression. But there was something… more.

Finn was a Hunter. There was no denying that. He wondered if he should tell Lyu so she could pass on a message to Eileen. Hmm. No. He would need more evidence first.

Being called Good Hunter wasn't enough. All the other Hunters he had met so far had called him that. Finn could have heard it from any of them or from some third party who had.

"They are safe, if that is your concern," Lyu said in a somewhat gentler voice… which was extremely difficult to notice. "They were able to exit the Dungeon without any injuries."

"That's good," he sighed. Another thought crossed his mind. It made him break into cold sweat. "Um… L-Lyu, who exactly carried me here?"

"Your blacksmith companion," she answered readily.

He almost broke into tears of joy. Aiz Wallenstein may have seen him battered and broken (again) but at least she didn't drag him here all over again like last time.

"A-Ah, Lyu?" another thought crossed his mind. "Please tell me _Loki Familia_ didn't pay for me again. Can you tell Mama Mia I'll pay instead? I don't want her to think I'm the kind of guy who gets beat up and pitied by my peers."

"There is no need," Lyu shifted in her seat. "We've come to expect this sort of behavior from you and suspect it won't be the last. Furthermore, Mother Mia has been called back by her _familia_ for an expedition. She will be gone for some time."

Huh. His instincts had told him Mama Mia was someone to be wary about. And it went deeper than as a tavern wench who needed to wrestle groping adventurers on a daily basis. He should have known she was an adventurer. He wondered which _familia_ she belonged to—

"What do you mean expect it?!" he blurted out as what she said finally registered. "Do you think I always put myself in this amount of danger on purpose?! Enough so you give me this room?!"

"Oh no," she said cooly. "Do not be mistaken. While the room is reserved for your use under special conditions, we are charging _Hestia Familia_ per each use as well as meals and services."

"…So you're just taking advantage of an injured man."

"Syr thought you would appreciate being nursed back to help in a friendly environment," Lyu stated matter-of-factly.

Bell frowned with reluctance, "I… I guess… It would be nice to be nursed back to help by a cute girl…"

Something shifted in Lyu's eyes. "Mister Cranel. Do you mean to tell me I'm not cute?"

"I-I didn't say that!" he blurted out. He would have sat up if her icy stare didn't petrify him. "I-I-I was just thinking it would be nice to be nursed by Syr! No! Wait! I can't have her do that! It'd be too embarrassing!"

"…You seem to have no problem with it being me."

"T-That's because you've already done this! I've already lost all my shame with you! I-If anything, you should take responsibility for taking something I can't ever have back!"

Her brows shot up, "Is that a proposal?"

He froze. All the blood he had remaining ran up to his face. He shivered as he tossed the blanked over his head. He wailed a few incoherent denials.

"I must politely decline," Lyu said professionally— cold, distant, and apathetic. "Not only would your goddess curse me forever, but I would be doing something unforgiveable to Syr. I appreciate your sentiments but am quite satisfied where I'm at right now. Why don't we start by being friends?"

"Lyu…" he sniffed as he lowered the blanket enough for his eyes to peer over. "I don't know if you're being serious or just teasing me…"

"Who knows?" she said casually.

There came a few knocks on the door. Very soft knocks. It would have been missed if they had continued to talk. Or, rather, the knocks had been intentionally timed once the awkward silence was apparent.

Lyu stood and approached the door.

This time, all the color in Bell's face drained away.

The one who entered was Aiz Wallenstein. She was pristine without any dirt, grime, and blood. She had removed her armor in favor of the backless blouse and skirt he always saw her in.

"M-Miss Wallenstein!" he shot up from his bed.

Her eyes flicked immediately below his neck.

…He didn't realize he was only in his smallclothes until her eyes noticed him.

He squealed like a girl and covered himself with the blanket, cradling himself in the fetal position and praying to ever god in the Upper and Lower World she would forget this embarrassing moment.

"Mister Cranel seems healthy enough to no longer need my attention," Lyu stated simply. "I have other duties to attend to. If you will excuse me."

Wait! She was leaving him here?! Alone?! With the Sword Princess?!

Aiz didn't make a noise as she stepped further inside. The door shut once Lyu left. The Sword Princess didn't move any further. She remained standing at the edge of the bed.

Several agonizing minutes passed in silence.

"How are your injuries?" her voice was small and awkward.

He peeked his head out. Only enough to be polite while keeping his modesty in check. "A-Ah… They're fine. I think. A little sore. But I'm alive. Ah ha… ha ha… haha…"

He wanted to smack himself. He was blowing it! She probably thought he was a total loser who had never talked to a girl in his entire life!

It was mostly true. He _hadn't_ talked to a girl since coming to Orario. Two months in the city was hardly enough time for him to adjust.

"I see," she said with a slight nod. "That is good."

…More awkward silence.

"H-How about Miss Riveria?" he asked. "She looked really hurt last I saw."

"Riveria is fine," she answered a little easier. "She was able to use her magic to heal her eyes. She's having difficulty seeing right now but she says it will go back to normal soon."

"That's good," he sighed with relief. "I'm so glad I showed up before something really bad could happen."

There was more silence, but it wasn't the same awkward silence. It was… uncomfortable. It was as though he had said the wrong thing. Something shifted in her posture and in her eyes. She wasn't looking at him at the moment.

"Why… were you down there?" she asked suddenly.

Why was a newb like him down in a Dungeon she frequented? How could he answer that? Honesty, for starters. But not everything.

"We were looking for specific drop items," he said. "Welf— he's a blacksmith of _Hephaestus Familia—_ he needed certain items for his forge. I agreed to help him. We just happened to be there when Lady Maria showed up."

He wondered if Welf did manage to get the materials he needed. He would have to ask the man when next he could.

"I see," Aiz said in acknowledgement but wasn't satisfied. He could tell she wanted to know more and wanted to ask more. But she remained silent.

She looked briefly at the door as if someone else would walk in. No one did.

She approached the bed. He tensed and brought the blanket under his chin.

Her face was determined with something he couldn't read. "You fight just like her."

He immediately knew what she was talking about. But still he questioned it inside his mind. Did he really fight like Lady Maria? Her style of fighting was different from his. Really, their styles entirely depended on what Trick Weapon they used. If anything, Maria's style of fighting was a blend of Cainhurst dueling and whatever Gehrman used.

His was more based on, if anything, Eileen. He didn't get to study under her. But upon picking up the Blade of Mercy did he have to quickly learn how to use the weapon. Or perish.

However, at their core, both styles were Anti-Hunters.

"Teach me."

His thinking process came to a screeching halt.

"…Eh?" he blinked and looked at her.

Aiz Wallenstein bowed with her face parallel to the ground. She lowered her head for him.

"Teach me how to fight like you, please," she pleaded in her unique way.

Time stopped for him. He couldn't think.

"EEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!" was all his voice could find to say.


	11. Chapter 11

**A note from the author!**

Hey! Just a quick note, I wanted to point at the awesome cover made by Fanfiction's very own, Oslight. I, uh, actually forgot to include it in the last update. I'll leave a link in my profile after uploading this chapter to see the full image as well as his other Paleblood fanart.

I can now squeal like a fangirl. I have fanart. Suck it Aaron.

Oh, regarding other links, the link to my fictionpress is already on my profile page here. Or, you can search "Arrixam" on fictionpress. Both this account and that are linked together.

I'm sure I had something else to share... something relating to Paleblood and it's plot... Something the reviewers disagreed with that I just don't care about because I like messing with them and plan on doing whatever I want to watch them squirm...

Oh well.

ON WITH THE SHOW!

* * *

It was an early afternoon at Pantheon, the headquarters of the Guild. Most of the morning traffic had cleared out with a few adventurers coming and going for small things. Things won't become hectic again until nightfall, when most of the adventurers down in the Dungeon would return to the surface.

Misha kept glancing at the clock. It was a few minutes past her scheduled lunch break. Guild regulations would grant her the thirty minutes no matter what… but she couldn't leave until all of her business was complete.

Her last-minute walk-in was a pair of adventurers assigned to her as their advisor. Normally, as adventurers were allowed to pick and choose their own advisors, most adventurers would choose an animal person or an elf. Or Eina. Misha was just a common human. She was surprised she had been requested out of the "flowers" of the Guild.

She should have put some thought into it. Just a little. But she was too anxious to start her break already. She had been working since dawn!

"How many times do I have to tell you two?!" she groaned, more frustrated this meeting was going to drag longer than it should have than (how did Eina put it with her White Rabbit? Ah!) making sure the two of them returned safely. "You're only a couple of newbies! You need to stop diving into the Deep Down! I don't care what your goddess says! You need to follow rules! We have them for a reason!"

"You can take the fee out the reward," the one who did most of the talking, Chase, answered cooly with a prepared tone. "I'd also like to purchase a map of the fortieth floor and—"

"Are you even listening?!" she sagged in her seat.

It was the talk of the century (for a couple of days) when the goddess Prometheus stepped down from her position in order to create a familia of her own. It was an even bigger scandal when her chosen children had refused the recommended Guild advisor and requested Misha specifically. Misha felt like she had a lot to live up to… and _a lot_ of work she didn't want.

It was worse than she feared.

"Please try to understand my position," Misha said with a tired voice.

"W-We do, we do," assured the gentler and more considerate of the two, Issei. He put up a few hands to ease her. "It's just… it's a little restricting, don't you think? Misha-chan, you always see us come back alive. And we bring proof we completed the quests. We're stronger than the average adventurer! We could kill a lot more monsters and explore new territories if we didn't have the Guild breathing down our necks. Haven't we proven we're more than just a couple of Level Ones?"

"Try telling that to my boss," Misha grumbled. "If you hadn't registered as newbies a couple weeks ago, I would have believed you were adventurers to another familia before. That would also mean Goddess Prometheus gave us false documentation. What's worse, supposing what you say is true, I'm more likely to believe you're cheating. There's no way a couple of newbies can take on Level Four, Five, and Six monsters on their own."

"Of course we're cheating," Chase remarked with a blunt look. "We want to reach the bottom of the Dungeon before the end of the season. The normal growth rate by grinding takes too long. Getting all those experience points just to meet some quota regulated by the Guild will take years. Why do that if we already have the capabilities through our natural talent?"

"Right," Misha shot them sarcastic glares. "Because you're a shaman and he's a dragon."

"Acolyte," Chase corrected.

"The 'D' is capitalized," Issei muttered below his breath as he scratched his head.

They were doing this on purpose, she knew. And they knew she knew. It was why they had _conveniently and unexpectedly_ shown up right before her lunch break. They were toying with her frustrations. She was already excited about her break, had those hopes shattered by these two, and was now annoyed enough to endanger her career just so they could get out of here!

What pissed her off the most was the fact it always worked. But not this time! Not this time for sure! Misha Flott will not budge!

…She was already in the red for excusing them too many times.

"Whatever!" Misha threw up her arms. "Look, try and understand where I'm going with all of this! You can't just ignore Guild regulations. Not only will your familia be fined, but repeated violations will result in penalty actions! Your familia could receive a suspension and possible disbandment! Get it now?"

"That sounds like a lot of paperwork," Chase's brows shot up.

Misha's brow twitched.

"We're also Prom Queen's first members," he pointed out next. "She wouldn't be willing to let everything collapse so easily. She'll put up a fight. I'd imagine she'll demand a trial from the Guild. Evidence brought forward. Testimonies exchanged… They'll probably call you since you're our advisor. Hopefully it won't be on your day off."

The conference room was quiet for a moment.

"…I'll let you off with a warning," Misha put effort into her voice.

"I understand," Chase nodded and spoke as if he was genuinely reflecting on his actions. His eyes said otherwise. They were as blunt and callous as they always were.

"You will still receive the fine for entering restricted areas," she went on. Her eyes scanned the bag of loot and the quest sheets sprawled across the table. "But you will get your reward for… these five missions. Please be mindful next time. And… please stop requesting me right before my break."

"I'd also like to purchase that map I mentioned earlier," Chase said without a lick of shame. "We also need a copy of the reported monsters down in those levels. Oh, and a list of any jobs requested in that area."

Misha shot him the dirtiest glare. He was unfazed. He wasn't going to change. Not now, not the previous five times, and not anytime soon.

"It's for… motivation?" Issei offered with a smile. "New adventurers can dream about one day reaching those floors, right? Your boss will understand if you tell her that. Maybe?"

Her glare shifted over to him… but it couldn't hold any of the fire as it had against Chase. Unlike the man she was pretty sure was a half-dwarf with all the wrong genetics from both sides, Issei was compassionate and a true gentleman. He had an innocent smile that rivaled Bell Cranel's. And… he was pretty good eye candy.

"J-Just…" she shut her eyes and tried to regain her composure. She needed to be in charge. Like Eina, she told herself. Be like Eina. "If you meet me at the reception area I will deliver your things over the counter. Will that be all?"

"That's everything," Issei replied in a hurry when Chase opened his mouth. "Thank you very much, Misha-chan. I'm sorry for taking you away from your lunch break."

"It's fine," she said but didn't put the effort to mean it. She stood and opened the door out of the conference room. She spoke when they followed her, "But, seriously, do you two have a death wish or something? Why are you diving head first into the Dungeon and ignoring my advice? Why even request me if you're not going to listen…"

She grumbled that last part under her breath.

"It's only temporary," Chase commented casually. "There will come a time when we go down there and you will never have to deal with us ever again."

Misha stopped walking. They stopped. Issei blinked at her but Chase glanced in the corner of his eye with expectancy. He knew she would react this way.

"What… What is wrong with you?" she blanched. "Do you _really_ have a death wish?!"

"I'm not saying we're going to die," he said simply. "I'm saying we won't come back because I know what's down there."

She glared at him again. "You? You know what's at the bottom floor of the Dungeon? Yeah right. Not even _Zeus Familia_ were able to reach down there. Tell me what's down there then."

"Don't know," he said flatly.

"B-But you just said—!"

"That's because what's down there can't be explained by any concept both mortals and gods understand," he turned to stare straight at her. His eyes were sharp. "Or anything else in existence, for that matter. What's down there doesn't belong here. It belongs on… the outside, for lack of a better word. That's probably why the Ancient Times came to a conclusion and the Era of the Gods started."

…What a child. Trying to act and sound all cool.

Misha let it go and split away from the group to head behind the counter. The members of _Prometheus Familia_ waited patiently at her window for her to fill everything out and acquire their rewards.

When she returned to the window, she caught a glimpse of white and brown hair walking through the Guild hall and towards the conference rooms. Ah. Bell must have arrived while she was in the back and went to Eina's window. Eina was leading him with her usual professional presence.

Except… Bell looked like he was walking towards the guillotine.

"For completing the quests," Misha skimmed through the sheets in her hands, "your reward would have been a collective thirteen million valis. However, subtracting the fine as well as your requested material, your total comes to five million valis. Please take this receipt to the Exchange to accept your—"

There came shouting from the conference room. A lot of it. It startled Misha. Those rooms were supposed to be soundproof with both raw material as well as magic. Misha wasn't the only one who jumped where she stood. Some of the other receptionists and adventurers did too. There came a wave of silence as those furthest from the conference room realized there was shouting and stopped to listen.

The entire Guild was stunned by the cries of a screeching banshee behind those closed doors. Nobody moved. Not even security wanted to check if everything was fine.

The shouting died down. The door opened.

"MISS EINA I'M SOOOOOWWWWWWWYYYYYYYY!"

A crying White Rabbit fled out of the room and out of the Guild.

Eina stepped out of the room a moment after, fixing her glasses and glancing towards where Bell had run off to. There was a look of guilt in her flushed face but it quickly returned a sharp glare when her head look down the Guild antechamber.

 _Everyone's_ heads snapped away, pretending they didn't witness the drama.

"Orario never gets boring, I'll give it that," Chase muttered to himself. The sound of his irritating voice brought Misha back to business.

"Right," she cleared her throat. "Here's your receipt. Have a good day. And stay out of trouble."

Chase made no promises. He and Issei stepped away from the reception windows and went in line to the Exchange.

Misha, meanwhile, put the CLOSED tag onto her window and hurried to the work desks in the back. These were the cubicle office spaces each Guild employee were given to fill out their paperwork. She wasted no time in hurrying over to Eina's space while everyone else was giving her a wide berth.

"Wow, Eina," Misha approached with a whistle. "What did you do to him?"

Eina's mood soured. But she wouldn't turn away her childhood friend.

"I gave him a stern talking," Eina said crisply as she straightened a stack of papers.

Stern. It wasn't the word Misha would have used.

"Geez," she sighed and pulled out the chair across of Eina's— this was Misha's office space. "What did he do to warrant the full wrath of Eina Tulle? Don't tell me he lost the piece of equipment you bought him!"

While the noise of the Guild continued to flow, the noise around the offices had grown soft. The other Guild employees working in the back had slowed their progress to better hear. They were just as hungry for gossip as Misha.

Eina adjusted her glasses as she answered heatedly, still infuriated at Bell, "He completely disregarded every piece of advice I have given him. He grew impatient and ventured too deep into the Dungeon. He was in a critical state by the time he came back to the surface. If _Loki Familia_ hadn't been there when they found him…"

Eina fell silent. Her body slouched as her hands stopped moving. The half-elf employee was as much of a workaholic as Misha was a slacker. For her to stop…

Misha glanced at the side of her dearest friend's face. Eina was looking down at the desk with a gloomy expression.

"I almost lost another one. What am I doing wrong?"

Misha wasn't supposed to hear it.

She also chose to not see the tears in the corner of Eina's eyes.

"Well~" Misha sank into her chair and spun around. She pushed it back, wheeling herself until her head rested against Eina's. "Whatever happened, I think the Little Rabbit learned his lesson. Everyone in the Guild saw him balling and running away from mean ole Eina. He'll think twice before doing it again. Heck, I sure would. I still remember when I accidentally sat on your glasses."

She shuddered at the memory.

"Still," Misha continued, "that was pretty impressive. You gotta tell me how to scare my adventurers like that. The two I've been monitoring don't listen to a thing I have to say."

Eina didn't say anything. But the mood had changed. Misha had known her friend for so long she simply knew things were better.

"Hey Eina, I'm about to go grab lunch. Wanna tag along?"

"You know what? That sounds great right now. I think I will join you."

The two girls stood. Misha stretched while waiting for Eina to meticulously clean up her desk.

"I happen to know this one café that makes the best cakes! It's right by Upper Eastern-Third."

"Misha… that's quite a ways away. Are you sure we'll be back by then?"

"Don't worry about it. We'll make it back. Probably."

Eina put up an unsure smile. But she didn't argue against her friend.

They were about to leave when…

"Hold on there, Flott," a hand latched onto her shoulder with a grip made out of stone.

Cold sweat flashed through her. She knew that voice, that tone, and the pressure of this grip. It belonged to the manager in charge of her and Eina's group. And, by the sound of things, she was in trouble. Again.

"Y-Yes?" she squeaked.

The animal person that was her manager raised the overflowing manila folder filled to the brim with _Prometheus Familia's_ latest exploits. It hadn't been a full month and the group had managed to overburden their file.

"See me in my office," he said and walked away.

Of course, he said one thing but hadn't let go of her shoulder. As he walked to the corner office, he was dragging her along her heels.

"B-But! I was going to go on my lunch break!" Misha cried out. "Can't we have this talk later?! Eina! Eina please say something!"

She was crying. The Guild wouldn't fire her for something like this (probably). But she knew she was going to have to work overtime and would suffer in her paycheck. And she more than likely won't be able to hear anything for a while after the manager was done yelling at her.

"…I'll be sure to bring you back something," Eina said with a flat look. Misha knew that look. It had been given to her since they were in school. It was the look Eina gave her when Misha wanted to copy her homework and Eina had refused.

"Traitor!" Misha screamed as the manager, literally, tossed her into the office.

0-0-0

Welf took a sip of his ale. He had wanted to go to his regular tavern but the Good Hunter had insisted the place of rendezvous would be here, at the Benevolent Mistress.

He exchanged a look with the prum girl, Liliruka Erde. Her eyes met his. They both knew each other's line of thought with a glance alone.

He can understand why the Good Hunter had been so drawn to this place. As Welf looked around, he was surrounded by nothing but cute girls in frilly serving dresses. For reasons Welf couldn't understand, the Good Hunter had been able to maintain his childish innocence. It was unfathomable. Welf, as Djura, had turned into a spiteful being who had forsaken all other Hunters. He didn't hesitate to gun them down whenever they ventured into Old Yharnam.

Honestly, he had thought the Good Hunter was the maddest of them all. There was no way someone who had gone through the Hunt could keep their innocence. But, after looking around at the boy's preferences, he had to second-guess.

Maybe, just maybe, Bell had something no other Hunter had.

He snorted.

Of course the Good Hunter did. How many before him had come to venture into the Hunt? How many had ended the night through Gehrman's scythe— whether by choice or not? The Good Hunter, Bell Cranel, was the first and only Hunter to defeat Gehrman _and_ end the Hunt once and for all.

Welf took another swig before slamming the empty mug down.

"So what's bothering you?"

He waved for another mug. The ashen-haired waitress, Syr, who had been keeping a close eye on Bell the entire time, smiled at Welf and went behind the bar to get him another one. Oedon Beyond knew Welf was going to need it for whatever Bell had to say.

Bell was cradling his mug with both hands. His chin was resting against the table while he sobbed away like a small child. "M-Miss Eina is mad at me."

…His response was just as childish.

"Master Bell's advisor?" Lilly took another small sip from her drink. Hers was halfway done. "It's understandable considering the story _Loki Familia_ fabricated. Besides, even if they didn't, you said so yourself she would be mad at you beyond rationality. Yet Master Bell went into the Dungeon anyways."

Welf didn't try to comfort the Good Hunter, who sulked further from Lilly's words.

The general of _Loki Familia,_ Finn, had been the one to secure their passage back onto the surface, procure lodging for Bell, and organize an excusable story for all parties. It wasn't far from the truth, either. It went: in order to acquire rare materials, Bell Cranel and company had ignored the Guild's rules and ventured into the Deep Down of the Dungeon. They bit more than they could have chewed and the happenstance of _Loki Familia's_ elite waltzing through had stumbled upon them.

All three _familia_ of theirs were penalized by the Guild. But all else was kept away from their knowledge.

For his own reasons, Finn had promised the complete silence of his teammates. The two Amazons, the Sword Princess, the high elf, and two Supporters accompanying them would not share a word to anyone. Though there was no promise they could keep the story hidden from their goddess.

Welf accepted Finn was a Hunter. But he couldn't figure out who nor could he demand the prum to reveal himself. Their statuses in this world were too different. Welf might be better than the average Hunter, but Finn carried the aura of someone belonging to the elite.

Had he been an Old Hunter? Or did his colors rally to the Healing Church? There was no doubt Finn was someone Welf didn't want to fight against. It was why he agreed with this cover story.

"She'll come around," Welf said when he couldn't bear the Good Hunter's sobs any further. He ignored the prum's glaring— he didn't care if she had feelings for the boy or not. "All that matters is the fee is covered and we came out on top. The Guild might be watching us a little more closely but we won't have to do anything that extreme again. At least not for a while."

He didn't plan on going back into the Dungeon anytime soon. But one of the other penalties the Guild stamped on their record was a suspension. They weren't allowed back into the Dungeon for two weeks.

"But… Welf…" Bell sniffed as he lifted his chin. "You didn't see her. Miss Eina was so mad. Her face was so red. I've never seen her like that. It was like the Minotaur all over again…"

He was about to ask what he meant when Welf recalled how the Good Hunter ended up in the Dream. A Minotaur had ventured into the upper floors of the Dungeon and had killed the boy. Imagine that, a newbie adventurer so green he can't go further than the fifth floor, suddenly dealing with a monster normally found on Floor Fifteen. Now Welf understood the comparison to this Eina Tulle.

"Bell," the waitress, Syr, approached and placed Welf's ale down. She gave the boy a pouting face, "You should feel bad about it. Did you see the way you were carried here? You were so full of blood I thought something terrible had happened to you. Do you know how scared I was…?"

Welf thanked the waitress and immediately took a long drink. Half of the mug was gone by the time he put it down.

"I wasn't trying to make you worry!" Bell shot up and waved his hands around.

"But this isn't the first time you've come back like this!" Syr argued with a face on the verge of tears. "Bell, do you know how many adventurers I've served that never came back? I don't want you to be one of those."

"I'm sorry, Syr," Bell bowed his head. "I've caused you and the tavern a lot of trouble lately. It wasn't my intention. I promise not to do that until I'm better prepared."

"Not _better_ ," Syr raised leaned forward and put a finger to his face. "Be prepared. That means you properly level-up and have the right gear. Do you understand, Bell Cranel?"

"Y-Yes," he squeaked like a mouse.

"Good," Syr straightened herself but didn't look satisfied. "For your punishment, you're going to order everything on the menu."

Bell's face lost all color, "B-But I can't eat all of that by myself!"

"I'll never forgive you otherwise!"

The Good Hunter, who had faced beasts leagues his size, looked at his partners. Lilly gave him a glower while Welf made a more observational look. Either way, they weren't going to help him in this endeavor.

Bell let his head fall, defeated. "Yes. I understand."

"Good~" Syr nearly sang. Nearly, otherwise that would have given away her _obvious_ charade. "Be sure to give your waitress a good tip too!"

"…Can I have another?" Welf asked as he downed the last of his ale.

"Coming~" Syr sang fully this time as she skipped away to the bar.

If Bell hadn't been crying fully, he was now.

"Master Bell still hasn't learned his lesson, it seems," Lilly remarked dryly.

"Is he always like this?" Welf asked.

"You should have seen him when we first met," Lilly remarked. "That waitress girl had invited Master Bell here for dinner, but he had invited Lilly in his ignorance. Lilly didn't know about this until arriving at the tavern."

"Ah," Welf understood everything instantly. However… "And you have no problem right now with the way things are going?"

Lilly's cheeks flushed slightly. "Lilly is… content. For now. But Lilly will not lose to some tavern wench. Master Bell will see the true error in his ways and choose who best supports him."

"…What are you talking about?" Bell asked.

"Nothing," they both answered in unison and took a swig.

Welf looked down at his mug. It had been empty prior. Was he already this drunk? Man, the booze must be stronger than he gave it credit for. While it wasn't as tasty as the red ale he favored, it was strong. Well, it had to be if this tavern catered to adventurers mostly.

Alas, most of the menu was reserved to baking goods. This early in the afternoon had the tavern converted into a café. Mostly housewives and merchants vacated it. They were the one of the few adventurer parties present.

It meant he couldn't order any of the smoked sausages or potato crisps. Those were reserved for when the tavern fully shifted into being a tavern. At night.

At least they served booze throughout the day.

"Can Lilly ask something," the prum spoke softly but firmly. It was quiet enough to not draw attention while making sure she could be heard across the table. "Mister Welf, what was the point of this trip into the Dungeon? Master Bell purposely left out details so Lilly would follow until too late."

Bell flinched. Welf didn't know the prum hadn't been told in advanced. It explained her sour and frantic behavior during the entire trip.

Welf waited until the waitress returned with his drink. He didn't say anything as she lingered about. She had wanted to be a part of the conversation, giving Bell a few glances as she clutched the tray close to her chest, but left to serve another table when she took the hint.

"Let me ask this first," Welf began as he took ahold of his mug and thumbed at the handle. He didn't take a drink. He probably won't until the point of this meeting was finished. "Lil'E, how much do you know about the Good Hunter?"

He chose the title rather than the name. He wanted to see how much _exactly_ she knew.

"Good Hunter?" Lilly blinked. "You mean Master Bell? Lilly only knows there are other groups besides adventurers called that. Hunters. Two of them approached Lilly and tried to hurt Master Bell."

Based on the way Bell adverted his gaze… there was more to the story. Welf wouldn't pry.

He didn't respond right away. He stared into the wheat-colored drink as he thought to himself. Lilly knew next to nothing about Bell. But she was aware of the existence of Hunters. He had to manage his story based on this confession.

"I am a Hunter," Welf began. "Well… I _was._ I'm an adventurer now of the _Hephaestus Familia_. I pride myself as a blacksmith. You see, because of my history, I made weapons and armor for adventurers with what would normally be used for Hunters. The coat that the Good Hunter's wearing? I made it. He found me and we talked. We came to an agreement that I would make all of his equipment if he would help me out. We went into the Deep Down to find the right materials I needed to make better gear. But I didn't know you were unaware."

He said the last part while glancing at Bell. The boy shrank within himself.

"Lilly was not aware of this disclosure," the prum remarked with a blank face as she took another sip. Her tone had been a whip that made Bell flinch. "But Lilly should have suspected something when Master Bell introduced you to me suddenly. Lilly had thought you were a person of suspicion that had taken advantage of Master Bell's lack of experience."

"If there's one thing I know about him…" Welf sloshed his drink around as he thought. "He's a good judge of character. It's funny. In Yharnam, you typically call the gentlemen 'good' and the ladies 'fair'. It became something sarcastic to call him the _Good_ Hunter. Eventually… from the stories I've heard, I think no one else deserves such a title."

Bell stopped crying as his eyes widened with insight. He was looking at Welf like a younger brother being praised by his older.

"Sorry if we scared you at all, Lil'E," Welf apologized to the prum with a slow bow of his head. "Though we would have risked our lives to protect you, that didn't excuse we dragged you with us through the worst the Dungeon has to offer."

Lilly gave him a sour look. She had something nasty to say but she withheld it at the last moment. She did, however, sigh, "Lilly is not used to excursions like that. It'll be a long time before I am prepared to do it again. Please do not ask Lilly to go back down there anytime soon."

"I'm sorry," Bell said. He put up an apologetic smile for her, "I should have told you a little more in advance. But, like what Welf said, I would have never let you come to harm. I don't blame you if you don't want to work with me ever again. I understand. I've already asked a lot from you."

Her cheeks flushed as she scowled at him. But she averted her gaze quickly after, "I-It's fine, Master Bell. Lilly received plenty of valis from the trip. It wasn't a complete mess. And… Master Bell never let Lilly come to harm's way."

There was a comforting silence from the three. They all drank as soon as their topic was concluded.

"So…" Bell looked unsure as he looked up at Welf. "Does this mean you're not going to be a part of the battle party?"

Welf raised a brow at that. True, the conditions of the deal was to venture into the Dungeon for a specific piece of loot from a specific monster. Everything else they gained along the way was a bonus. They were even allowed to keep everything after running into _Loki Familia._ And, true to his word, Finn had paid the Guild fee.

 _"I feel responsible,"_ he had said to the Guild employee who was gushing at him. Finn had used his charms to his advantage. _"As a top-tier adventurer, I should have been there to better protect them. It's my fault. Please allow me to pay out of my own coffers. It would put my heart at ease."_

…It still wasn't enough to lift their suspension, however.

"Don't look at me like that," Welf said with a low grumble. "Makes me feel like I just kicked a rabbit. I ain't gonna say 'I'm done, see ya' and leave. I owe you, Good Hunter. Once we rest and the suspension is lifted, I'll join you whenever you want. Besides… I need someone to test out the new kicks I'm gonna be making."

Bell's smile could have lighted up the entire tavern. Welf couldn't help but give the rabbit a toothy grin in kind. He lifted his mug over the table. Bell fumbled for a moment and raised his too. They didn't clink. Welf gave Lilly a sideways glance; she blinked, questioning if she was going to be a part of this party as well. She gave Bell a look, who was looking back at her with pleading eyes. Lilly had a weakness, it seemed. She glowered but raised her mug as well.

Their mugs came together before they drank in unison.

"How long do you think it will take?" Bell asked almost immediately. He was as excited as Welf felt.

Welf couldn't hold back the feral grin as he leaned back in his chair and thought about his plans. "Ah… as soon as possible. I want it all to be done as soon as we're allowed back down there."

"Lilly just said she doesn't want to go on excursions for a while," the prum spat.

"No one's inviting you," Welf waved a dismissive hand her way, but couldn't hide the smile in his eyes. They had all just made a pact. They were a team. They would go in the Dungeon together or not at all. "Besides, it's not really an excursion. It's a test. A test! If we time it right… we should be able to hit Floor Seventeen and test the sucker out on the Goliath."

"That's not any better than before!"

"Then you should be prepared, Lil'E," Welf snickered. "We have two weeks after all. Don't tell me you're planning on lazing around like we're on vacation or somethin'."

Lilly raised her mug to her lips and grumbled something darkly.

"What about you, Good Hunter?" Welf asked next. "Any ideas what you'll be doing the next two weeks? I heard you went into the Dungeon whenever you could."

"Y-Yeah," Bell began to sweat as soon as the question was made. He fidgeted in his seat nervously. "Actually… I'm going to be having lessons with… Miss Wallenstein."

"The _kenki_?" Welf's brows shot up. "Well, that's certainly unexpected. I'd have thought someone as strong as her would have sulked and—"

"Remember the promise to Mister Finn," Lilly spoke sharply. "While he agreed to never mention what happened in the Dungeon, Lilly thinks we should do the same. Especially in a place where everyone can hear us."

Both Bell and Welf sank in their seats. She was right. Welf knew better than this. He should stop drinking after finishing this ale.

"That reminds me! Get this!"

A new voice was raised in the tavern, drawing attention. It came from a prum sitting at a table full of other adventurers. Normally, Welf would have ignored someone like this. There was always someone loud in a tavern. But this person… he was making this much ruckus on purpose.

"Some 'bunny' tried to reach the Deeper Down of the Dungeon! I heard _Loki Familia_ found him beaten to a pulp on the tenth floor! They felt so sorry for him, they covered his medical expenses!"

The prum and his teammates barked out a few laughs. Some of the patrons around them laughed as well. Noticeably, the maids of the Benevolent Mistress had their moods sour.

Welf glanced at Bell. The Good Hunter was bothered by this hearsay, but he was holding himself back. Welf could only shrug, gesturing for the boy to just let it go. Bell nodded back and drank his ale to calm down.

At the back of Welf's skull, he felt those adventurers looking his way. They were trying to start something. It made his brows furrow.

"Well, duh," the prum went on with his story. "The newb's only been an adventurer for a few months. He also went down there with some no-name blacksmith and a puny Supporter. What kind of shitty team is that?! No wonder they were done by the tenth floor!"

Bell's agitation grew. His face was turning flush with anger… and probably enhanced by the booze.

"Don't," Welf said firmly. He gave the Good Hunter a hard look.

"Master Bell shouldn't listen to those adventurers," Lilly agreed. "They don't know anything."

Bell looked dissatisfied but he listened well. Welf admired the Good Hunter a little more; the boy was willing to defend this Old Hunter's honor. Even when they hardly knew the other.

Welf's sharp ears picked up the clicking of teeth. The prum across the tavern wasn't happy with his provocation failing.

Welf was about to suggest they pay the bill and leave when—

"And then there's that goddess of his!"

Bell's entire body became stiff. All emotion washed out of him as his eyes flashed across the room and found the prum.

"She's so pathetic she has to work a daytime job! At that fried potato stand on North Main! No wonder the bunny is so useless! An adventurer is only as good as its god and, boy, is that goddess the most useless of them—!"

The entire tavern felt it. All noise from chatter to utensils to steps from the maids to the clatter of the kitchen fell silent. There was something in the air. Something oppressive like a physical weight blanketing them.

To Welf, it felt like a beast was breathing down his neck. It felt like he had gotten sloppy, hadn't been paying attention to his surroundings, and this monster was about to gorge out his neck.

It felt just like when the Good Hunter climbed his tower and surprised him.

This was bloodlust at its finest. And it was originating from Bell.

His hands were pressed against the table. Gently, with as much silence as there was in the room, he pushed the chair back and stood.

He didn't get to _Hunt_ this prum.

A crash as loud as thunder in this dead room came towards the table with the prum. A chair had flown through the air and smashed the prum dead center in the face. The prum was knocked out of his seat and onto the floor.

Heads turned towards its origin. A man, either a dwarf or a prum or a human with both characteristics, stood at his table. He lowered the arm that had thrown his own chair. A deep scowl carved his face as he circled around, walked through the clutter of occupants, and reached the squealing prum cradling his face.

"…My hand slipped," the man said with irritation.

"Y-You!" the prum cried out, his voice muffled by blood and the hands covering his face. "You broke my nose!"

"I know," the man retorted dryly, almost with disappointment. "I was aiming to break your teeth and snap your jaw."

The prum let out another cry of anger and pain.

"Who do you think you are?!" one of his teammates bellowed and stood. The other adventurers stood as well, reaching for their weapons.

"Sit," the man commanded.

And they did. They fell back into their chairs in unison. Surprise was etched onto their expressions. One adventurer at the table tried to resist whatever compulsion forced them but to no avail. The rest remained idle.

"An adventurer is only as good as its god," the man turned back to the prum. He bent over, grabbed him by the collar, and began to drag him towards the front entrance. "I didn't think Apollo was such a pussy."

As easily as he threw the chair, he threw the little adventurer out onto the street.

"Leave," he turned and ordered the rest of _Apollo Familia_.

The teammates of the prum stood in unison and began to walk through the tavern in single-file formation. The one at the rear, the one who had tried to resist, was the only one capable of turning his head to gaze at the man. The man's expression didn't shift as he watched them all exit the Benevolent Mistress.

There were hushed whispers and chatter around the tables, gossiping away at what they had just seen.

"Any acts of violence in the Benevolent Mistress are strictly forbidden," one of the maids, an elf, went to retrieve the chair the man had thrown. "Please leave."

Though she said so with a firm voice that couldn't raise any argument, there was something akin to gratitude in her eyes.

Still, the man argued.

"He convinced me to do it," the man pointed back at his table.

"What?!" another patron, presumably his teammate, stood and slammed his hands onto the table. "Don't throw me under the bus like that!"

"…Then I'll have to ask you the same," the elf looked at the teammate.

"B-But…" the teammate looked like he was about to cry. "I didn't do anything."

"I suppose we're never allowed back here again?" the man asked in a casual tone when he looked back at the elf.

The elf blinked but nodded, "Yes. Those are the rules."

"N-Never…" the teammate whimpered.

"Come on, Hyoudou," the man handed the elf a small bag of valis. Though the scowl remained, his tone was completely casual and dismissive. "We're out of here before we cause more trouble."

"Y-You!" the teammate, Hyoudou, cried but was already moving. "You did this on purpose, didn't you?! Just so we can't ever come back here!"

"Do you really think I would do something like that?" the man held one of the swinging doors open for his teammate. "Do you honestly think I would purposely make sure you don't use your Gift on _another_ girl? I mean, I shouldn't. It's good blackmail material. What will your girls back home think?"

"…I hate you," the teammate muttered with every fiber of his being as they left the tavern.

Welf… had no idea what any of that was about. But it felt like everything that had just happened was just an excuse to create something else.

" _Apollo Familia,_ " he muttered. Barring the two strange men, this detail couldn't be ignored. "What the hell was that about? What are they trying to pull?"

"Lilly… doesn't know," their own prum couldn't come up with any idea. "Master Bell, you didn't do anything untoward one of their members? Maybe charmed one of their female members?"

"I don't know what you're talking about…" he muttered with honesty. And twice as much density. "I've never met anyone from _Apollo Familia_. Your guess is as good as mine."

Welf looked at the last remains of his ale, "They're definitely trying to start something with you. Lil'E, watch your back just in case. It doesn't seem like they're beneath getting anyone close to the Good Hunter involved. Bell… don't do anything extreme."

"L-Like what?" the Good Hunter asked sincerely.

It made Welf's eyes narrow. Was it truly innocence? Or was it ignorance? Was the Good Hunter not aware of his own amount of bloodlust? Was that the true, nasty secret that had kept him sane throughout the Hunt?

Welf finished the last of his ale. He didn't want to think about it any further.

0-0-0

Bell was dreading the morning. He couldn't sleep. Too many thoughts swam through his head. Anxiety was getting the better of him. And before he knew it, his biological clock was telling him dawn was approaching.

Knowing he was beyond sleep, he groaned and sat up from the couch. He made sure to not make any noise as he gathered the necessities to start his day. His goddess was still asleep. She didn't sneak into his sleeping spot throughout the night, probably because he hadn't slept and had any nightmares.

It ached his heart. She knew all about him. He had told her everything. He wasn't sure if she had believed him but… she never shoved him away. She never called him names or dismissed his paranoia. She only said she would look into it, whatever that meant.

However, beyond that, they were never the same again. Something had changed between them.

By the time he was out of the bathroom in a new change of clothes, Hestia was tossing and turning in her bed. She was starting to wake up.

"Bell?" she whispered lowly as her head turned towards him. She cradled the blanket over her shoulders as she spoke half-asleep. "What're you doing? Go back to bed."

Because of this sudden distance, he hadn't been able to tell her about his plans with Aiz Wallenstein. She had been notified by the Guild (having been dragged there to represent the _familia_ since he was out of commission) regarding what happened in the Deep Down. However, he hadn't the chance to tell her his side of the story.

"There's something I need to take care of, goddess," he said just as softly, trying to lull her back to sleep. "I'll be back later. Have a good day."

"Mmm, 'kay," his goddess yawned and sank deeper into her pillow.

He was out of the door and climbing the stairs to the antechamber of the church.

"Wait a minute!" he heard his goddess shout in alarm. "That's not what I'm supposed to say! Bell! Come back here!"

He pretended he didn't hear her. Never mind the rest of the neighborhood probably did. And to create the excuse he was out of earshot when next she asked, he _Quickened_ the rest of the way out of the church… and down the street.

From there, he gave a light jog towards the destination. He gripped the rinds of his backpack as he let out a sigh. He wasn't looking forward to coming home. Again.

He knew at some point he couldn't keep running from Hestia. No matter how awkward things were, she was his goddess. The church was their home. He would have to return to it and face the music at some point.

…It didn't mean he couldn't prolong it as long as possible.

"Morning, Syr!" he greeted with a wave as he jogged past the Benevolent Mistress.

"B-Bell?!" the ashen-haired maid dropped her broom at the greeting. "What in the… Get back here, mister!"

Mister. If there was anything that triggered an alarm in his head, it was that. He'd be in more danger if he were to keep running. While running would have him escape Hestia, it wouldn't work for Syr.

He backpedaled until he was in front of the shop.

She was gripping her broom with one hand while the other was at her hip. She was giving him a look. "What are you doing? Aren't you supposed to be under suspension? Or have you forgotten?"

Oh. Was that why she was upset? And here he thought he had done something else. He couldn't understand half the times Syr was upset with him. Every other time she wasn't even upset, merely teasing (read: strong-arming) him into spending more money at the tavern.

"I'm not going into the Dungeon today," he said simply. "I have training with Miss Wallenstein."

Syr breathed out a sigh of relief, "Is that all? Bell, you should have told me. I thought you weren't going to be around this early for… never mind. Wait right here."

She turned and went back into the tavern.

His head tilted slightly. Wasn't he in a situation like this with her not too long ago? Yes. Last week, if he recalled correctly.

And, just like the last time, she returned with her morning rations. It was a small bento box wrapped in a blue handkerchief.

"You didn't have to do this, Syr," Bell said when the box was practically shoved into his hands.

"Don't worry about it," Syr said with her notorious smile. Bell got the shivers. He knew something was up. "After all, this is my insurance."

"I-Insurance?"

"Yup. That way you have to return here and make do with your promise."

"P-Promise?"

"The one where you have to buy everything on the menu _or I'll never forgive you._ "

Those last words… her face flashed to something scary before returning to her cute smile. He could have sworn he imagined the whole thing with how fast it happened.

"I… yes," he could only reply with a small voice.

She waved him off and continued with her morning duties. As if the morning didn't stress him out enough, Syr had to give him a perilous task. He tucked the lunchbox into his pack and continued the rest of his jog.

Instead of heading towards the morning traffic that led towards the Guild and the Dungeon entrance, he took a detour. He headed down Second East and kept going down for several blocks. The directions given to him were rather vague, but after a while he recognized his surroundings from those slim details and managed to find the rest of the way on his own.

He came to the edge of the city, right before the great wall that was less of a border to the outside as it was a last defense to keep the monsters imprisoned. There were no guards at this station, which had signs of neglect already. He had no trouble slipping through the doors which led to the winding stairwell of one of the many towers.

The stairs themselves should have been a workout on their own. He lost count how many steps there were after ten minutes of jogging… which turned into a light trod… and eventually a crawl.

He was on the verge of literally crawling by the time he reached the top. He exited the tower bastille to step onto the great wall itself. It was wide enough to carry four carts across side-by-side. It had to be thick enough to withstand the worst of the monsters should they escape from the Dungeon.

It was also high enough to where even the most tenacious of aviary monsters couldn't climb. The breath was taken out of him by what he saw. The dawn was over the horizon but had yet to reach the lower half of the walls. To his left lay Orario, where most of the buildings were no bigger than the size of pebbles. The Guild building alone looked like the size of a brick! The only true building that outclassed this one was the lid of the Dungeon, the Tower of Babel. On the other side of the wall lay the vast forests, rivers, and mountains of the world Bell would never explore. He was sure, if he was facing the right direction, he would be able to see his farming village.

But what truly took his breath away wasn't the scenery.

With the morning sun, her hair shimmered like golden silk. Aiz Wallenstein was sitting on her heels, checking the condition of her sword while she was waiting for him. She had donned her armor for this training. Nevertheless, the sight of her, waiting for _him_ , made him forget to breathe.

"Ya-hoo~"

They weren't alone. Sitting in Aiz's shadow in a more lax posture was her teammate, Tiona. She leaned over Aiz and gave Bell an excited wave of her arm. This startled Aiz, who didn't react further than the smallest widening of her eyes, and turned her head to see what she was calling to. After seeing Bell, she sheathed her sword and stood.

He jogged up to them while they took their time to meet him halfway.

"G-Good morning!" he more yelled than greeted. He was a nervous wreck. Maybe he shouldn't have jogged? He was sweating already. What if he smelled?!

"Good morning," Aiz greeted back in her usual soft voice.

"Mornin'," Tiona was the polar opposite. "Neh, Little Rabbit, you don't mind if I watch, do ya? Not that we don't trust ya to do naughty things to Aizu, but we were all really curious after what we saw. I won rock-paper-scissors so I get to watch!"

He put up an unsure smile. He couldn't exactly say no to her.

But… what was that part about rock-paper-scissors.

Hold on.

"I-I-I would never do anything indecent to Miss Wallenstein!" he blurted out. Heat flashed to his face. He glanced at Aiz (who blinked nonresponsively) and the eye contact made his face flush further.

Tiona cackled with a hand over her mouth, "It's that reaction why I'm going to win the bet."

"Bet? What bet?"

"Can we start?" Aiz asked with a raised hand.

Right! He wasn't here to make a fool of himself! He had an impression to make!

He got himself organized. He placed his backpack against the wall's edge, took a deep breath, and tried to relax. He had his weapons tucked in their holsters and his coat over his shoulders.

His poor coat… it had been thrashed by Lady Maria. Her Rakuyo had pierced through the dragon leather. It was now a tattered mess. At least he couldn't go into the Dungeon for a while. It wouldn't last too long down there. Not until Welf produced a new one with the materials they gathered.

Now they stood in front of the other. Aiz staring down at him blankly, expecting and anticipating the first lesson needed in Hunter tactics. Tiona sat against the ledge of the wall, her legs kicking back and forward and eyes watching him. There was no doubt she had been sent to do more than just observe this training lesson.

Bell… was sweating bullets as he came to realize something.

"I… don't know how to start," he admitted.

Aiz tilted her head. Tiona, however, snickered. She tried to hold it back, even tried to hide it when it couldn't be kept. She had to look away from Bell.

He had been so excited about this event he hadn't tried to compose a lesson. No, that wasn't entirely true. He daydreamed about the things he would teach Aiz Wallenstein, which was a concept he couldn't wrap his head around. It should have been the other way around. His daydreams eventually turned to _her_ teaching him. Either way, he was excited about being alone with his crush no matter the reasons.

His face flushed with embarrassment this time.

"How did you learn?" Aiz asked in her quiet voice.

All the embarrassment washed away as his eyes glazed over. Horrific memories flashed through his mind. He remembered the first time he entered the Hunter's Den, met with Gehrman, given a single knife, and thrown straight into the Hunt. No warnings. No explanations. No training.

He ignored those traumatic memories and tried to come to a more concrete answer. How _exactly_ did he acquire his skills? Most of the time, he was flopping around, crying, and relying on the other Hunters to drag him through the night. But he couldn't always have help. There were too many times he was alone.

He had to adapt. He had to learn how to hunt the beasts or be eaten. He had to learn how to properly wield the knife, learn when the knife wasn't enough, and learn when there wasn't a way to achieve victory.

Ah.

"The first thing I learned was how to run," he announced without shame.

It got a blink out of her.

How many times was he overwhelmed with monsters? How many times did he enter a silent room only to have an abomination crash through the walls? How many of his fellow Hunters went crazed and attacked him without warning?

The first thing he learned throughout the Hunt was to turn tail and run with all his might.

"I already know how to do that," she said. "I don't want to learn again. I want to learn how to fight."

Ah. Right. He should have known. Hunting beasts and venturing into the Dungeon really weren't all that different. In fact, the Pthumerian Tombs and Orario's Dungeon were so similar it wasn't even funny. Aiz already had some of the basic Hunter skills. She was, after all, a Level Five adventurer.

It meant, while he might be a decent enough Hunter, she was one of the best adventurers in all of Orario. Her experience was just as good, if not better.

"Miss Wallenstein," he began.

"Aiz," she insisted.

He had to pause. He shouldn't be calling her by her given name. But… she gave him permission. And given the circumstances, he was the one teaching her.

"A-A-Aiz…" he couldn't help but stutter. "What, um, do you exactly want to learn?"

She curled a few fingers under her chin as she thought. He was nearly swept off his feet with how cute it looked. He made sure he wasn't gawking when she raised her head. A serious expression was on her face.

"I want to be able to fight like you," she said. "To fight like… a Hunter. To beat _her_."

He understood a little more. It also made him realize how she came to this decision.

It was exactly like the Minotaur attack. Before he recalled his memories as a Hunter, all he wanted to do was to be like her. He wanted to rise through the ranks as an adventurer to be able to keep up with her.

Their positions had been reversed. He came at the last instance to challenge Lady Maria. He had saved Aiz Wallenstein. She was the one looking up at him, wanting to be just like _him_.

He wondered. If she had killed the Minotaur instead, and supposing he didn't go through the Hunter's Dream, would he be pursuing the same trial? Would he be throwing himself into the Dungeon as he had before to reach her ranks? Would he thrive to become just like her, eventually facing his fears and confronting a Minotaur, and defeating it by his own merits?

Yes, he honestly could say he would. And this was what she was thinking about herself.

This amount of praise and respect was too much for him. He was about to lose consciousness.

"I-I don't know how to be like me," he said. "Nobody really taught me how to fight. They… taught me how to not die. More than enough times… I fought people instead of beasts. It's from fighting them, from not being killed by them, did I learn how to wield my weapons."

"…Beasts?" she asked.

She had noticed how he chose to say 'beasts' instead of 'monsters'. Most, if not all, adventurers called the things they fought against as monsters.

He also left out the detail about how both people and beasts were one in the same. The Beast Scourge and its dark truth was something he didn't want to share with anybody. The only person he told was his goddess.

Whatever conclusion Aiz came to made her understand something. She drew her sword out of its sheath and readied her stance. He took note; one leg in front of the other with the sword at the front— to act as both a ram and defense on the fly.

He took note of the weapon. Its length, its width, the guard, her grip. Did it contain any hidden properties like the seemingly innocent Reiterpallasch? No. It was a simple straight sword. It wasn't a Trick Weapon.

She had no openings at the front. He could only assume her specialty was forward assaults. He would need to get around that. She was open at the sides, assuming her dexterity and reaction time weren't swift enough to adjust her defenses.

He withdrew the Oedon Knife and held it overhand. He readied himself.

Her eyes drank him in the same way. She was making an analysis of his form and altering her battle tactics just like him. Her footing shifted the smallest of margins. It could have been perceived as a balance but Bell knew otherwise. He adjusted his posture appropriately. She noticed and shifted again. He did so likewise.

This happened again and again. None of them dared to attack the other until they could see an opening or find a method to create one themselves.

In the meantime, Tiona stopped kicking her feet as she had an elbow propped on her knee and chin in her palm. While it might look like she was bored this early in the day, her attention was absorbing every movement the two made. For all her outward appearance and antics, she was a high-tier adventurer for a reason.

This slight distraction of watching Tiona gave Aiz the opening she had been looking for. She launched off the floor, kicking up dust in her launch. She sprang forward with the blade extended.

At the last instance, his chest turned and jerked back. His feet were still planted to the ground. Drawing up the Oedon Knife, he made sure her blade wouldn't come back around to cut into his neck. As he parried it, he slid forward, getting into her guard.

He could grapple her, turning her balance against her and having her land on her back. He could reach for her neck or a pressure point on her body. Or he could get into the gaps of her armor and rob her of air. He could kick in her knee and make her lose balance.

Instead, he disengaged by pushing her blade away and regaining his distance.

She went at him again. She sent a flurry of blows at him, all of which he saw through and either deflected or dodged.

Twice she overextended. Not much, which proved her exceptional skill with the sword. It was no faster than a blink. But he had caught it.

Her wrists. They were exposed. They weren't protected by her armor. Her armor only protected her forehead and chest. Well, most of her chest. He could have cut her wrist, making her drop her weapon and attack her undefended. If she would have fled, she would have bled out anyways.

He didn't. He kept up the defense.

She moved a few celch back. She was trying to provoke him into attacking. He wouldn't fall under it. She spun quickly, raising her leg up in doing so.

Once again, her armor didn't protect her. And she should never raise her leg any higher than another's knee. There was too much balance relying on the other leg and too much recovery time. And with the leg up like that, she couldn't bring her sword around to—

"Drk!"

The leg came around like a whip. All of a sudden, his vision turned red and white as pressure consumed the right side of his head. Before he knew it, everything went dark.

He didn't know what happened. Everything was black and he swam through the abyss. He felt as light as a feather. He heard voices off in the distance. Familiar voices, but voices he couldn't name. Gradually, as if light was shining through, the darkness began to thin out.

He opened his eyes.

He was looking up at Aiz. She was looking down at him. He was looking up at her chest… at her modest bust. There was a heavenly sensation at the back of his head.

…Wait.

He screamed and shot up as he realized he was using Aiz Wallenstein as a lap pillow.

"…You're okay?" she half-asked, half-commented.

His heart was hammering against his chest. There was too much stimulation after getting knocked unconscious. What had happened? Instead of following up on the attack (or even dodging) he froze up with inadequacy and remained stationary. Her heel met his temple and he was out like a light. He could only assume after an uncertain amount of time she had tried to bring him back to consciousness.

"L-Let's try that again," he insisted while patting his chest, trying to calm his heart.

"…You sure?" she half-asked and half-commented, again.

"Sure, let's!" he insisted. He searched for his knife, which was resting close to them, and readied himself.

She rose and readied herself just the same. She assumed the same position.

She came at him again just like before. They exchanged blows. All harmless to him, and he wouldn't dare to attack her openings. He wouldn't dare to hurt her. She wasn't a beast or a crazed Hunter. She was an adventurer. She was fighting him with honor and he wouldn't sully—

"Gck!"

Once again, her heel met the side of his head.

Once again, moments later, he screamed and sat up after reawakening to the same scene.

After he calmed down, they went at it again. Their blades clashed as their bodies twirled.

"Ngh!"

…And her boot met his face once more.

…And he screamed again.

"Are you the same bunny down in the Dungeon?" Tiona asked aloud. "The way you're moving now and back then are completely different.

He sulked where he sat. He didn't bother to get back to his feet— though he made sure there was more than enough space away between he and Aiz. He didn't understand what was going on. He was doing everything he was supposed to aside from going in for the kill. He was fighting Aiz honestly. If she were any other Hunter, her moveset would have killed him. But, no, instead of going in for the kill, she was letting him rest his head against her lap.

…It might as well have been the killing blow. His fourteen-year-old body could only take so much stimulation.

"I see now," he heard Aiz mutter. She had come to her own conclusion.

He heard steel sing as her blade was being unsheathed. She wanted to try again. He would have to oblige, though he didn't know how to change things up to alter the results. He had a feeling he was going to get knocked out once more.

"Aiz!" Tiona shouted in alarm.

He felt it within his core before she screamed. Every instinct within him screamed.

He tucked his body forward just as the tip of Aiz's sword stabbed into his back. Had he remained idle it would have pierced through his back and stabbed into his heart. Instead, it struck the small of his back, exactly where he kept the Blade of Mercy hidden.

He rolled forward and brought the Blade out. The Oedon Knife was too far away, resting where she had been kneeling.

Aiz came at him again. Her eyes fierce and sharp, lacking all emotion. Her sword was raised for the killing blow. She meant to slay him like a monster.

The Blade was up as quick as a flash, locking her sword in the groove of the blade. He twisted, turning her sword away from them and pinning her in place. With a twist of his wrist, he activated the Trick Weapon and released the secondary weapon within. The Blade split apart, keeping her blade locked as the twin dagger came loose.

He brought it about, underhanded, stabbing it toward her eye.

She saw it and turned her head at the last instance. The alien metal cut a deep gash across her cheek.

Her balance was shifted. He moved to take advantage of it. He stepped forward, moving his leg behind hers, and twisted his body. Not only did it realign his position for the next strike, but it robbed her of her sword and knocked her off balance. She tried to regain her footing, tried to catch herself with her hand and roll aside. He anticipated this. No, he planned this.

Rather than trying to aim for a vital and missing, he aimed for the axis of her spin.

He dug one of the daggers into her shoulder blade.

He hadn't realized what he had done until it was too late.

He didn't pursue. He could have, used the pain she was feeling and slowing her down to deliver the final blow. He couldn't. She wasn't like any of the Hunters before. She was _Aiz Wallenstein_.

"M-Miss Wallenstein!" he cried out. Blood. There was so much blood running down her back.

Aiz had her brows scrunched in pain, but not as much as the average person. Her face was still like a doll's. She only brought a hand up to her cheek to check how much blood her fingers brought back. Never mind one of his daggers was lodged _into her back_.

"P-Potion!" he blurted out. His head swiveled around until he found his backpack. "Health potion! You need a health potion! I have one!"

He was panicking. He didn't mean to hurt her this badly. He was only reacting to her attacks. It was what he would have done during the Hunt. He should have known better. Here and there were two different places! He didn't want to kill the girl he admired!

He _Quickened_ to his backpack, found a vial of red liquid recently purchased from the _Miach Familia_ , and _Quickened_ once more in front of her. He shoved the vial into her hands and implored she used it immediately.

"That," she said instead of drinking. "I want to learn how to do that."

Only then did she drink. The health potion took effect after a moment. The first notice came at the gash on her cheek, which sealed itself shut. A moment later, his dagger clattered to the floor after being pushed out by her healing body.

"Aizu, that was reckless," Tiona approached and chopped Aiz's head with her hand.

While she didn't show a reaction to Bell's attack, she flinched and put her hands over the spot Tiona had attacked. Her eyes were looking up at her with tears in the corner of her eyes. Did such an attack hurt that much? What sort of unreal strength did the Amazoness wield?!

"And you!" Tiona turned quickly on Bell. He shriveled at her glare. "What were you thinking going all out like that! I saw that! You were about to kill her!"

He muttered something incoherent with tears of his own threatening to fall. Tiona was truly frightening when angered. And Bell had his fair share of angry women.

"I know," Aiz said to her. "I did it on purpose."

Both Bell and Tiona looked at her.

Aiz didn't explain right away. She instead looked at Bell and asked, "You… don't know how to hold back, do you? Your eyes. They were always looking for a way to kill me. Not fight, but kill. You don't know how to fight beyond that."

His jaw was slack with amazement. Yes. Everything she said was spot-on, even when he hadn't known it himself. It made sense!

"Yes," he agreed. "It was always kill or be killed. I never had the chance to spar like this with another Hunter. We're not like adventurers. What I mean is… we don't compete like this with other _familia._ Whenever we're not hunting beasts, we were putting down Hunters too consumed in bloodlust. We always fought by any means necessary."

He was more telling himself this than her. He was coming to terms with a concept he lived but never tried to think about. It was as if she had asked how he breathed. He simply did. The mechanics had been beyond him.

"Just what kind of place did you come from, Little Rabbit?" Tiona asked with her loud voice.

"Yharnam," he answered honestly. "It's a place infected with a terrible disease that turns people into beasts. We were tasked with hunting them down."

"People into beasts?" she asked, crossing her arms. "For you to be this strong… do you mean to say people turned into monsters just as strong as those in the Dungeon? That makes sense! So, what god did you have in his Yummy-Ham place?"

Aiz was looking at him with as much curiosity. No, if he could place it, he would say her eyes were shining with hunger.

"I… wouldn't call her a goddess," Bell muttered. "It was kinda like the falna ritual. But, instead of gathering excelia, we would gather something called Blood Echoes. They're… the dying wishes of the beasts we hunted. I gave them to her and she would make me stronger. I could even use them to repair my gear, make them stronger, or purchase equipment!"

"Eh?" Tiona blinked at his explanation. "It seems kinda cheap if you can spend something like valis to increase your status. But who's _she_? What's her name?"

He knew she was trying to reap information out of him. That was probably why she was really here. He had no reason to withhold it from her. He had already revealed everything about himself to her and her teammates down in the Dungeon. He didn't want to make them his enemy. Not if he wanted Aiz to become his enemy as well.

"The Doll," he answered.

"A… doll?" Tiona gave him a flat look.

"That's all I know her by!" Bell put up his hands before she could chop at his head too. "Gehrman didn't give her a name! I only knew her as the Doll! So did everyone else! Honest!"

Tiona was unsatisfied with the answer but didn't press on.

"I would like to get back to training now," Aiz spoke up.

"Eh?!" Bell snapped his head towards her. "B-But I hurt you badly! You still want to go?! What if I don't stop myself before it's too late!"

"…Then I haven't learned anything," Aiz said boldly as she stood. She rolled her shoulder, testing out the flexibility after the healing potion.

Bell was in conflict with himself. He admired her tenacity to get better. Truly he did. But at the same time, he didn't want to carve her like a turkey to do it!

"I will never learn if you hold back," Aiz said. She placed her hands at her front and bowed, "Please take good care of me."

Those were not the words shared when the two of them were about to kill the other!

With a nervous look, he adjusted the grip of his second-half of the Blade of Mercy, held it underhand, and bowed back. "Y-Yes. I'll do my best to—"

She came at him without warning. Her blade was pointed at his jugular.

A moment later, she was on the floor, clutching at her bleeding stomach.

"P-P-P-P-Potion!" Bell screamed and flailed around.

0-0-0

Bell walked down North Main with his shoulders slouched and hands dangling forward. He was too tired to stand upright. At his left, Tiona had her hands behind her back and walking without a care in the world. At his right, Aiz gave him curious glances as if wondering why he was so exhausted.

Why was he exhausted? It's not like he was the one who nearly bled to death three times. It's not like he had his vitals pierced. It's not like he was on the brink of death and beyond salvation of a healing potion too many times to count. He shouldn't have any reason to be this exhausted, right?!

Yet, the one who should be traumatized was walking as if nothing happened.

This was only their first day. He still had two weeks of this nightmare.

He didn't want to accidentally kill his person of admiration!

"Why so gloomy, Little Rabbit?" Tiona asked.

"It's just… a long day," he sighed, not wanting to share the actual reason.

"…Are these lessons too imposing for you?" Aiz asked with genuine concern.

"NO, NOT AT ALL!" he shouted with too much force. He stood erect and put up his best smile despite his fatigue. "I have no problem! None at all! I'm more than happy to do as much as I can!"

Aiz studied him before nodding in acceptance. Her mood brightened, though only someone like Tiona could notice based on now marginally small it adjusted her expression.

It was dusk by the time they decided the day was done. They had taken a break around noon for lunch— Bell ate his boxed lunch by himself while the girls went off on their own. After that, Aiz was stabbed several more times until now. She got better, sure. The last few times she went from critically wounded to gradually bleeding out.

If things were to go on like this, he would need to buy _a lot_ of healing items. _Hestia Familia_ now had a good sum of money from both selling the other pair of Blade of Mercy and from his exploits into the Dungeon the other day. But, still, potions weren't cheap. He hadn't spent this much money in rapid succession since the first time he went into the Benevolent—

He stopped in his tracks and broke out into a flash sweat. He just remembered something.

The girls stopped after they noticed they had passed him. They turned to give him looks.

Syr was going to make him buy everything from the menu. This was his punishment from her. He couldn't refuse her. He didn't want to make someone like her upset. He had to be a man, accept responsibility, and take his punishments with a raised head.

"Are… any of you hungry, by chance?"

…That didn't mean he didn't have to go down alone on this sinking ship.

"Hah?" Tiona was confused by his sudden question. "Hungry? Oh. Oh! Ohhhhhh! I see now. You look defenseless but you're really a prowler, aren't you, _Little Rabbit_?"

He didn't know what she meant by that. Unless… she saw straight through him?! She knew he was trying to drag them into his problems?! As expected from a top-tier adventurer.

"That wasn't my intention!" he argued to save face. "I… was just thinking, since this is our first day and all… I could treat you both to dinner. That's all. I didn't have any ulterior motives. Really."

Who was he trying to fool? A fish?! Everyone in the street could see right through him! The gods and adventurers passing by were giving him pitying looks!

"Sure, why not?" Tiona said with a toothy grin. She nudged at Aiz, "What do you say, Aizu? Dinner sounds pretty good right about now. But just so you know, Bunny Boy, we don't come cheap. I can eat a whole elephant!"

He wanted to fall onto his knees and embrace this Amazoness. He couldn't have asked for a better salvation from the demonic Syr!

Aiz didn't look so comfortable with the idea, "But… I'm the one who asked. Then… please let me pay for it."

Alarms went off in his head. What will Syr think if Aiz Wallenstein paid for the bill?! He feared an even deeper punishment. She might even get Lyu involved!

"N-No, no," he waved around frantically. "It's on me. Really! I insist! I'm the one who pushed you like this!"

She made the cutest pout. But she didn't argue further.

"Sounds good to me!" Tiona approached him and wrapped one arm around his. He gawked by how she pressed her chest against him while dragging him down the road. "So where are we going?"

He scratched his cheek, "Um… I actually had plans at the Benevolent Mistress."

Tiona stared at him for the longest time. It was as if she could read right through him.

"Sounds great!" she threw up a fist in cheer. Whether she was going along with it because of free food or helping him was beyond him. "I'm so hungry I could eat three— no! Four of everything on the menu!"

…He sincerely hoped she was exaggerating. How much did Amazons eat exactly?

As they kept walking through North Main, the crowds began to thicken. More than usual. More than adventurers who had finished their days crowded the streets. The sidewalks were packed and they could see the sea of people at the center of the road being cleared aside.

There came the sound of hoofs on pavement. None of them could see over the towering adventurers and their large equipment. It wasn't until the main attraction reached directly in front of them could they see.

Bell froze solid. It was enough for Tiona, still latched onto his arm, to notice.

Armored men road through on horses. There was a pair of them holding a banner with an insignia on a bright red flag. The men were donned with blackened metal armor, plated shrouds and quilts, and faceless helms with trails of white hair blowing down the back. They had single-shoulder black capes with the same insignia. At their hips were swords normally found in the Far East, but Bell knew what they really were.

They were leading a carriage. It was being pulled by two horses with a driver dressed in fine silks over a traveler's coat. He sat with his head held high, proud, as though being the lowly servant to whoever resided within the carriage was the reason of his existence.

The carriage itself was mostly made of a dark oak with golden plating. The windows were gated with gilded iron, forming spectacular symbols while keeping the outside at bay. No one could see what lay inside as the curtains within were drawn.

Bell's heart hammered. He had seen all these things once before. He had seen them beyond the borders of Yharnam. And yet, it was an entire experience of itself.

He remembered what Lilly had told him. About a kingdom to the far north that specialized in beast hunting. She compared its warriors to him. He should have known _they_ would be here in this world as well.

The carriage had passed by them.

It stopped when it was a few meders down the road.

The door of the carriage blew open. A man stepped out. He was tall with a flashy red and black suit, long coat, stockings, and frilly cuffs and tie. His hair was as white as snow, pulled back into a tail and tied with black string. His eyes flashed through the mobs…

…And landed directly at Bell without hesitation.

"Eh?" Bell watched as the man approached, forced the crowds to split by his presence alone, and… "Eh? Eh?! EH?!"

Without word or warning, the man bent down, threw Bell over his shoulder, and returned to the carriage.

"EHHHHHHHHHHHHH—"

Bell's voice was cut off once they were inside and the door slammed shut. The carriage resumed its drive thereafter.

"…Should we have stopped him?" Aiz asked as they watched the carriage gather distance.

"I don't know…" Tiona tapped a finger under her chin as she watched as well. "We were told to not get involved with Cainhurst unless ordered. But then again… Finn told us to get as much info on the Bunny as possible. We can't do that if Cainhurst takes him. I know we got a lot of out him but still! I wonder what they want with him—"

Her eyes flashed open.

"W-We should have stopped him!" Tiona shouted. "The Little Rabbit was going to buy us dinner!"

"…Oh," Aiz said with some disappointment slipping through her voice.


	12. Chapter 12

**An unconventional note from the author!**

So, this note is a little longer than usual. But I have it broken down into three parts with each one being titled. Feel free to read or skip ahead to whatever section draws your attention... or skip them altogether. I usually do whenever I read notes.

 **1\. Dragoon Characters in Paleblood**

You've all voiced it and I've heard. Some, a very small margin at that, enjoy Issei and Chase appearing in this story. But the vast majority, some of which took exceptional grit, did not enjoy their involvement at all. I understand completely and wish to clarify something.

I have no intentions at all in them getting involved with the plot. While I had planned on them interacting with Bell in gag conversations, I will be taking them out completely. Other than the occasional explosion in the background, they won't make much of an appearance. They were, actually, first seen a few chapters ago (I forget what number exactly) where Bell was reunited with the Doll. Their cameo there will be as little interaction as they will display in this story from here on out.

So chill out. There WILL NOT be High School DxD hijinks in a Danmachi story. I have _To Harass an Adventurer_ for that reason instead.

Oh. And thank you, Master Fang, for telling me where exactly I went wrong and what I should have done. Hmm... I should probably tell you this in a PM instead. You know what, I should answer your message at some point...

 **2\. Adventurers as Hunters**

I've gotten mixed reviews regarding certain DanMachi characters having pseudo lives as Bloodborne Hunters. Some positive, some negative, and some that made me laugh. I listened to all of them since the first speculations with Lyu. While some plans are already in motion and can't be altered, I'd like to share one thing yet to be revealed and leave it up to you (read: the grinder). **If you don't want spoilers, please skip to the next category.**

First, I only have intentions of NPCs you can have conversations with in-game as these characters. The list includes Djura, Eileen, Voltr, Simon, and Brador. Other characters like Alfred and the Bloody Crow (though you don't talk to the second) are not in this list for plot purposes that will be shared as the story progresses. Now, my concern, is the adventurer who had become Voltr. The best candidate I had in mind was Ottar.

Please let me know what you think.

 **3\. Fanart Links.**

It's apparent Fanfiction updated its policy while I wasn't looking. I hadn't updated my bio and nearly two years. Seriously, did one random kid post a lewd or something on his bio and got the entire membership shafted?!

I'm sorry if the links don't work. All I can do for the time being is ask you to go to Deviant Art and search _Oslight_. He did a fantastic job. Seeing Bell with the Doll took my breath away.

Oh. And he does other fanart. There's that too. Check him out.

 **4\. Cainhurst**

I swear, every time I look into this lore do I find something new and contradictory. It's infuriating! You'd not believe how many times I had to rewrite some of the conversations based on some of the things I found. I like how Cainhurst is only ONE level with ONE boss yet has its lore spread out through the entire damn game. It's like a grenade blew up with the shrapnel going everywhere!

So, my interpretation of Cainhurst might not be what other "lore experts" believe. They might agree with me. They might argue with me. And I actually welcome it because I love these topics. But what I composed for the sake of the story is based on the flavor texts in the game as well as the original source of inspiration: Dracula.

You know, I meant for this arc to be just a few chapters. Three at most. But I might have shot myself in the foot. This might take me until the New Year to conclude. I might have to rethink my schedule if I'm going to finish BR and Seventh... ugh.

 **Alright that's everything!**

Without further ado, BLOOD FOR THE QUEEN!

* * *

Beyond the gates of Orario came two marching armies.

Arriving from the north-east was the invading force of 100,000 soldiers. They were all knights in full plated armor, donning the crest of their singular _familia._ While the grand majority of the knights were stagnant as Level One adventurers, those leading each of their legions as captains and lieutenants and donned in different colored capes were at Level Two. And leading the entire army were the prize of this marching kingdom, the three generals at Level Three.

Arriving from the far north, as north as the known map could allow, came a miniscule force in comparison at 10,000. However, hardly half of this collective force were soldiers. These were also knights, but donned not in armor but in flourishing and extravagant suits and dresses of red and black. These knights, rather than carrying and preparing their own things for war such as the other force, had brought their retainers and slaves to do it for them.

Of course, while the two came from different directions, they would eventually meet at the one road that would lead to Orario.

At the crossroads, Rakia and Cainhurst clashed. Just so they could determine who could use the road first.

Finn ran a hand through his hair as he watched the two kingdoms bicker. Of all the things to spill blood over…

The elite of _Loki Familia,_ as well as several other upper-tier _familias_ , were gathered under tents at the high road a few kiloms away from the city wall. While emissaries of both kingdoms had arrived some time ago to forewarn Orario of their arrival, the Guild sought it best to present the best _familia_ to greet them. Or, which was more likely to happen, to get rid of their unwanted guests.

It should be mentioned the number one _familia, Freya Familia_ , was not present. There wasn't even a representative.

"Captain," Tione sighed as she threw herself on top of him. Her chest rested on the top of his head as she threw her arms over his shoulders, feigning laziness. He knew better. "This is so boring. Why can't we just kick them out and go home?"

It was difficult to keep an eye on the battle through the binoculars with her like this. He had to put his arm down. He also couldn't move with her like this. But… he knew how she would act if he didn't play along. She would get fussy. She'd probably make things a lot worse.

"We have our orders," he offered. "While I would want to finish preparations for the raid against the Hunters, we can't ignore this problem either. Nor can we 'kick them out'. It'll cause issues if the other _familias_ see us as bullies."

Tione sulked further. He didn't miss how she was using this chance to embrace him. He would allow her only a few seconds before brushing her off. She either learned of his habits or sensed his discomfort because a moment later she released him.

He kept watch on the battle. Hardly anyone disturbed him— if anyone needed anything, they could direct their questions to Gareth or Riveria. He kept track of time, used the binoculars when something peculiar caught his attention, and checked the map sprawled on the small table in front of him.

Rakia believed in an outdated method of fighting where quantity triumphed over quality. Even after a thousand years and trying to overrun Orario five times (and failing to the point the city became bored with their arrival), they never changed.

As a Level Six, Finn himself could take out two-thirds of their army before starting to get weary. With Gareth and Riveria at his side, there was no hope Rakia could do anything. Combined with the other Level Six adventurers, the dozen Level Fives, and a hundred Level Fours… why even try?

But then… there was Cainhurst.

In its entire history, Cainhurst had been an enigma. It never involved itself with Orario other than the occasional merchant trading rarities. It was a kingdom no older than a century and had managed to keep itself hidden in its affairs from even the nosy _Hermes Familia_.

Yet, Rakia, who liked to pick fights with anybody, had been able to poke at this sleeping bear long enough to start a war with it. They had been fighting for nearly a decade with no obvious victor in sight. With news of this war spreading through Rakian channels, curiosity arose. Just who was the god that controlled Cainhurst that could challenge Rakia?

No one believed it when the ruler of Cainhurst was mortal, a human queen at that. Even less when the warriors of Cainhurst were not adventurers.

While no one knew anything about Cainhurst, Finn knew them exceptionally well as a Hunter. He knew about their heretical methods. It wasn't his business to get involved with that side of the world, but even he had to disagree with them. They, who had stolen the secrets of the Forbidden Blood from the Church, and had concocted a miracle elixir of their own. Their queen, who mixed her cursed blood with it, gave this elixir to her chosen few.

They were neither adventurers nor were they Hunters. They were called Vilebloods.

100,000 Rakian soldiers against 4750 Cainhurst Vilebloods… and Cainhurst had been the victor after taking 6000 lives with their casualties being a few dozens. The leading general of Rakia called for a ceasefire, no doubt infuriating the Rakian god with this humiliation. Finn could play it all in his head; the numbers of casualties would have been significantly smaller if the god had listened to his advisors and just let Cainhurst pass.

Cainhurst quickly gathered their things and continued their march, ahead of Rakia.

Finn's eyes narrowed as he saw something towards the front of the army. While there were several coaches for the highest ranking of knights, this box in particular stood out. Not because of the golden Cainhurst crest (every knight tried to outdo the other with how much they spent on their trailer), but because of those who surrounded it.

There were knights in dark silver, nearly black, armor carrying the flag of Cainhurst. At their side were the weapons forged for only those who had consumed enough blood to activate the cursed blood within them. These were Cainhurst Royal Guards.

Which meant the one being escorted within that box was…

Cold sweat flashed through him as the thing hidden behind those curtains _stared back._

Finn lowered the binoculars and pretended to study the map. He raised his thumb into his lips, a habit of his that always triggered his mind to think critically as well as to calm his nerves. He couldn't allow any of his teammates, or even his rivals in other _familias_ , to see him like this.

"Captain?" but, of course, the one who admired him the most would notice his distraught reaction. "What is it?"

"Just a thought," he put up his best smile to ease Tione. "Cainhurst is such a small army. Yet they were able to make Rakia bend. It makes me wonder what sort of monsters they have up there."

Tione frowned as she watched him. She didn't call out on his bluff. She wouldn't press it either.

"But what?" she asked instead. "Monsters that escape the Dungeon are so much weaker than those inside. Even if they're the same type. Maybe if they were big monsters. But without the Dungeon to respawn more, I would think they would get hunted to extinction."

She made a good point. Even supposing those strong monsters could breed to create more of their kind, she wasn't wrong in saying they would still be hunted to extinction. The numbers simply didn't add up.

Of course, he knew the terrible secret about the Vileblood and their thirst for blood. Cainhurst weapons weren't designed for hunting during the Beast Scourge. They were designed for dueling.

"Who knows?" he said in a thoughtful tone as he went back to watching Cainhurst march.

The royal carriage broke away from the army. Rather, the army moved off the road to set up camp in the fields. The carriage kept going, heading its way towards Orario.

With Cainhurst setting up camp so close to the road, Rakia was forced to move elsewhere. They backtracked and began to set up camp on the opposite side of the plain. Things quieted down as both armies were locked in a staring contest with each other.

…In actuality, Rakia was glaring daggers while Cainhurst was cackling smugly.

How long until they were at each other's throats again?

0-0-0

 _It was a strange chain of events that landed him here._

 _He had to apologize to Iosefka. She had promised safe haven to anyone he found. But, given how those few civilians he found were so much closer to Oedon Chapel than her clinic, he led them to the former instead. He learned his mistake with Gascoigne's children._

 _Yet, her door was always locked._

 _He didn't manage to get into her clinic until he go hopelessly lost. At one point, he was fleeing in terror in the middle of the woods, found a cave, was then running through a poisonous swamp and being chased by worms and giants, and had then managed to find himself in the back alleys of Yharnam._

 _The map he had been meticulously drawing no longer made sense. He crumbled it and tossed it away._

 _It was only by climbing onto the rooftops (the only path he could take when he ran into too many dead ends else chance the cave once more) and running away from those rabid wolf-crows, did he crash through the windows of Iosefka's Clinic._

 _He had two reasons to apologize to her this time._

 _"H-Hello…?" he called out. His voice echoed throughout the vacant hallways. "Miss Iosefka? It's me, the Hunter. I'm sorry about your window…"_

 _No answer. He kept walking, entering deeper into her clinic._

 _What he found was not a facility of medicine, but a house of horrors._

 _People were strapped to tables, cut open with their skin peeled apart and vitals removed into glassed jars. And as the deeper he got, the less they resembled human beings. Their bodies were warped, mutated into grotesque, bulbous forms. Their skin was an unnatural blue, their limbs stretched, their heads enlarging._

 _This was nothing like the transformation of the Beast Scourge. Whatever abominable feat was taking place in this medical ward was something worse._

 _"Ah, moonlit scents…" he heard the voice of Iosefka as he drew to the back of the facility. "How did you worm your way in here? Well, I won't make any excuses. Would you mind leaving us alone? Things need not change… You'll do the rescuing, and I'll do the saving."_

 _He froze. His eyes widened._

 _It was only due to convenience had he not told anyone about this place. The safe haven of Oedon Chapel was closer to anyone he found. But what if this clinic was closer instead? What if he had sent them here?_

 _He looked around once more. The mutated people bolted to the tables. She had done this. And she dared to call this_ saving _?!_

 _"If you refuse to leave…" he heard when he came across the double doors leading to her office. "Ah, well… I always wanted to try my hand on a Hunter…"_

 _The laughter he heard thereafter made him reach for the Blade of Mercy. His mind was made up._

 _He kicked open the doors, drew his weapon, and_ Quickened _just as a blast of arcane energy sailed through him. This night, the Good Hunter prowled on the fake doctor._

 _This is not the end of the story. Merely the beginning. This was one of the few steps he took to reach his current endeavor._

 _Upon searching the remains of their battle, trying to find any record of the victims she had tormented with experimentation, there stood something that he couldn't ignore. It had captured his eye as though a mysterious hand had placed it atop of everything else and in such a way he couldn't have missed it. Throughout the carnage of knocked over furnishings and shattered bottles of liquids, a withered envelope lay over a pile of other documents._

 _ **Nameless Hunter-G**_ _was printed on the front. It was addressed to him._

 _The cruelty of Iosefka was put behind him. There was naught he could do for the victims. Not while the night of the Hunt resumed. Yet, he took a detour, returning to the witchwoods just as the letter within the mysterious envelope requested._

 _There was a carriage awaiting him. It was being drawn by two black horses without a driver. There was no one within the carriage to greet him, yet the door swung open as though the carriage itself was welcoming him._

 _He climbed in, never thinking or questioning the series of events. Nor had he pondered about returning to his task as a Hunter and resuming the night. It was as though he had been mystified ever since seeing the envelope._

 _His sense of time became eschewed— more than it was with the Hunt. He did not know how long he had sat within the carriage carrying him to parts unknown. It was as though he were… stirring into consciousness after a long dream and falling once more into another dream._

 _At his destination, he was in awe as the carriage drove him to a grand castle with high walls and spired towers. The metal gate rose to welcome him._

 _The air was cold. It was a frozen tundra, completely different from the mucky swamp and dryness natural in Yharnam. If he had to say, it was as though he were in a completely different part of the world. A place that should have taken him weeks to traverse rather than a single dismissive sitting._

 _He became petrified as another singularity froze him to his core._

 _When he glanced at the carriage that had brought him, it was in ruins. The carriage was ripped asunder as if a cannon had blasted into its side and shredded it to pieces. What's more, the two horses that had pulled it lay dead. Their bodies had decomposed but were left mummified by the bitter cold and a thick layer of frost on their carcasses. These things had been left like this for a great deal of time._

 _…Plus the bridge that carried him was gone._

 _He gulped and began to shiver with new fears. He tightened his coat around himself as he faced the gate. It was the only direction he could go. So venture forth he did._

 _Through the gates was what remained of a courtyard. Rubble was spread around in part of the ruined castle collapsing downward. Statues were spread around in decoration with many of them shattered or knocked over. And the walkways and bridges connecting other sections of the castle together were destroyed._

 _There were also bodies littered everywhere. They had been frozen solid and as mummified as the horses outside. He could make out the faint colors of red and black on some of them. And, despite them being in horrendous condition, he could recognize the same white robes belonging to Church Hunters like Alfred._

 _This had been a battlefield, he realized._

 _He didn't know how long these bodies had been here. But they had drawn in unwanted attention._

 _The beasts that had wandered through were, as best he could describe, humanoid mosquitos. They had the body of the insect in question while maintaining the face of the elderly and long silvery hair._

 _They were also taller than he was. And… there were at least a dozen of them._

 _…Staring at him with hunger._

 _Naturally, with so many of them surrounding him, he fled. And, naturally, driven with starvation after harvesting the last dregs of this forsaken battlefield, they pursued._

 _He carved several of them, but he was outdone by their sheer numbers and their ravaging hunger. They fought as ferociously as he did for the sake of survival. His escape onto the bridge would be the death of him; his only salvation was to enter deeper into the courtyard and reach the inner castle._

 _As if anticipating his arrival, one of the grand doors to the castle opened. Just enough for him to dive through. It did not shut, but the beasts outside didn't dare to follow. They retreated. It was as if whatever they feared within was enough for them to rather die of starvation._

 _He didn't question it. He was just glad he was alive._

 _…He should have questioned it._

 _What next transpired consisted of him screaming in terror, running, slashing into the open air, more running, more screaming, and… more running._

 _Ever since entering the castle had he faced against things he had never seen before in the Hunt. He faced against the likes of monsters only found in the worst of horror stories. He was being chased by the ghosts of beings who haunted the castle and the gargoyles that defended its highest towers._

 _At some point, he had managed to escape all the ghosts by breaking free onto the rooftop rafters of the main tower. Unfortunately, he was not safe as it housed a new breed of gargoyle._

 _…One that knocked him off the roof._

 _He crashed as his back slammed against the stone floors of an adjacent wall. He was afraid he would be knocked down to the snowy floor too many meters below. But this wall was here to break his fall!_

 _He wanted to cradle and rock himself in comfort. He was ready to cry. But the monsters were still present. He had to stay moving else everything he had done to this point would be for naught._

 _He kept moving. He climbed up to the next rooftop when the path was barred from him. There were no gargoyles or ghosts or ghoulish servants to haunt him. For the time being, he was out of harm's way. But he was still not safe. Who knows when next they would come?_

 _As he ventured forward, this high up for the winds to blur his vision, he began to make out a figure in the distance. As he approached, he could have sworn to have seen it move. He readied himself, preparing to face another gargoyle._

 _It was no gargoyle. Nor any monster he had faced thus far._

 _It was a man, or the remains of one. A shrunken corpse petrified by the cold had come to life. It was dressed in the robes of a Church Executioner, a golden crown shimmering with arcane energy, and wielding a scythe in one hand and a sword in the other._

 _It attacked him without warning. He had no choice but to raise his weapons and fight. This was not one of the monsters he could flee from. This was something that called out to him to face as a Hunter._

 _The Blade of Mercy sang._

 _Thus, we come to his current state._

 _The Blade had pierced through the corpse's corpse and shattered whatever curse bound it together. It wailed one last time as its body was reduced to ash and was blown away by the bitter winds. Its weapons, its robes, and the crown toppled to the floor._

 _It was the crown that rolled towards his feet, as though guided by the winds itself. Even he noticed how unnaturally it moved towards him on this uneven rooftop. Still, he could not ignore its allure. With careful fingers, he picked up the crown and eyed it at arm's length._

 _His eyes widened as the energy from the crown came alive and entered through him._

 _An illusion had been placed on the rooftops. Wielding the crown had allowed him to see through them. At the far end of the roof stood another tower, perfectly preserved and mounted to the building he stood atop._

 _Something was drawing him towards it._

 _When he entered, velvet carpeting of a grand stairwell welcomed him. Statues of knights in armor wielding swords and spears, mounted on horses, had their arms raised in salute. He climbed the steps, in awe of the difference in these parts. This tower and its interior was not in shambles like the ruins outside. Life thrived here._

 _"Visitor," a voice called out to him, echoing throughout the chambers. "I claim no subjects, but here lieth Our throne. Kneel afore us… or get thee gone."_

 _He froze._

 _The monster he just fought… it had been an Executor of the Church. It had remained here, on this specific spot, wielding the crown in his hands. It had a purpose here. It was… guarding this place._

 _Was it to protect whoever lay within? Or to make sure no one made contact with it?_

 _He looked down at his Blade of Mercy._

 _He made his choice and climbed the next step._

0-0-0

"Bell was WHAT?!" Hestia shouted.

The two adventurers, Aiz and Tiona, found the little goddess at her daytime job. Rather… since they would have to pay for their own dinner they decided to make other plans. Aiz wanted to get a quick snack at her favorite stand before heading back to the Twilight House, the _Loki Familia_ home. It was here where they ran into Bell's goddess and decided to tell her what happened.

"Kidnapped?! And you just let him get taken?!" she shouted next.

Tiona gave a dry laugh as she rubbed the back of her neck. She gave no excuse.

"We were told to not start trouble with Cainhurst," Aiz offered. "We didn't want to start a war unintentionally."

Really, she was reciting the words both Finn and Riveria— repeatedly— crammed into Tiona's head. They weren't allowed to leave to go train until the two elders were satisfied.

"Can I have my order now?" Aiz asked while she felt her stomach growl.

The goddess Hestia glowered at her but complied. She was still on the clock and Aiz was still a paying customer. A batch of sweet potato puffs were wrapped in paper and handed to Aiz, who munched on them quietly to herself.

"Do any of you know where they're taking him?!" she demanded next.

"They still have to be inside the city…" Tiona muttered while she thought hard. "Bell's an adventurer, so it's not like he can leave even with Cainhurst officials. And they were coming into the city, anyways. So… maybe the Guild?"

Hestia glared at the Amazon, letting her know with her eyes on how useless this information was.

"Loki mentioned having to go to a gathering…" Aiz recalled. She remembered her goddess whining about being away from Aiz… and then tried to grope her to make up for time lost apart. "It seemed important. It might have to do with the Cainhurst representative."

"Oh! Good call!" Tiona looked at her teammate with praise.

"I'm coming too!" Hestia interjected before the two adventurers could leave. She was in the midst of removing her apron and bonnet. "Boss lady! I'm leaving early! My child is in trouble!"

"Your child is always in trouble these days…" groaned an animal person working the other stove. "If he can't deal with himself then he shouldn't be doin' this line of work. Fine, fine. But this is the last time, Hestia."

"Understood!" Hestia saluted and went to walk around the counter.

"Eh?" Tiona leaned over to whisper into Aiz's ear. "Were we planning on rescuing the bunny or something? I thought we were going to grab a bite to eat…"

Aiz eyed her partner. They had already dug themselves in this deep. While she was confident Bell can manage on his own, it _would_ be problematic if a political fiasco started just because the two of them didn't keep an eye on him. They were responsible… in a cosmic sort of way.

So, with great reluctance, as if surrendering water in a barren wasteland, Aiz extended the second half of her potato puff for Tiona.

Tiona understood the sacrifice and accepted the potato puff. Tears threatened to fall as she knew how much this meant to Aiz. She took a bite. Never before had the deep fried potato with red bean paste tasted so good.

And Aiz was looking at her as if she had bitten off the head of a puppy. Even if she was the one who offered it.

"Let's go, ladies!" Hestia urged them on, ignorant of the moment preceding. "Bell must be so scared being in their clutches! I can hear him now, crying out for his goddess to save him! Hold on, Bell! Your goddess is coming!"

She paused as a thought occurred to her.

"By the way…" she eyed the two adventurers through narrowed eyes. Those eyes briefly examined their womanly proportions. "How is it you two know my Bell so well?"

"Did he not tell you?" Aiz questioned with a tilt of her head.

Tiona had her face stuffed with the potato puff to provide anything.

"Tell me what?" Hestia's eyes narrowed further.

"He and I are training together for the next two weeks," Aiz answered simply.

Hestia didn't react at first. But then, all of a sudden, her body jerked. Even her twin tails bolted outright as if struck by lightning. She became petrified.

"B-Bell… and you? Alone? Together? Sweating it out for hours on end? For two weeks?!"

It was an unnecessary detail layout of what they would be doing. But, yes, Aiz would have to agree. She nodded back at the goddess.

"I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!" Hestia turned and began to march up the road. "You didn't tell me you were going to be alone with Aiz Wallensomething for TWO WHOLE WEEKS, Bell Cranel! You better hope Cainhurst hasn't tortured you for information! Because your goddess will! Do you hear me?!"

"…Should we stop her?" Aiz asked.

Tiona's eyes were full of playful wonder. It was the sort of look she and her sister had when they had a prank in mind. "In fairness, we didn't stop the guy from taking the bunny rabbit."

Aiz knew something was up. But she considered the statement for a moment. She couldn't argue against it. She eventually nodded in agreement and went to retrieve the goddess.

She tapped Hestia's shoulder and pointed down another road. The goddess was going in the wrong direction.

"Oh, thank you," she muttered, turned, and began her march anew.

The two adventurers could only follow, often guide the goddess towards the right direction.

0-0-0

The conference room set to hold this meeting had been decorated to satisfy the ludicrously high standards of the gods. Marble pillars were positioned along the walls for eying pleasure rather than to uphold the ceiling, tall windows allowed sunlight in, and the floors had been waxed to reflect everyone who walked along its granite floors.

A grand table had been placed at the center. Every chair for the gods had been hand carved, patted with velvet, and gilded with gold. In every placement was a goblet for refreshments as well as any tool necessary to keep track, take notes, or doodle, per requisite of this meeting.

The gods gathered were the unofficial rulers of the city. While it was in understanding the Guild was the de facto government ruling over Orario, these gods were the ones who ran the city, its citizens, the adventurers, and, to a certain degree, the economy as a whole. So great was their influence a single word could cause the city to implode. So great in power were their _familias_ should any two parties enter conflict would it create a civil war.

Gathered was Hephaestus, Loki, Freya, Hermes, and Ishtar.

"I am Ganesha!"

…And Ganesha.

Sitting on the other side of the table was the Guild representative, a man of no remarkable worth or impression. His sole purpose in this meeting was to record all conversation in this meeting and forward the document to his superiors. He was a witness and a witness only.

At one of the heads of the table sat the Rakian representative, the leading general, Prince Marius. He was a young man at the peak of his age, donned in majestic decorative armor and a floral wreath fit for his office. Though he sat poised, a single finger continued to tap against the armrest.

He kept staring at the chair at the other head. Specifically, he was wondering why it was still empty.

"What's takin' so long…" groaned Loki. She propped a leg up onto her chair while leaning half of her body on the armrest.

"Cainhurst only regards their selves above all else," Marius nearly growled out the words. "Their arrogance believes themselves more important than the gods."

"Evidently," Hermes noted while he eyed the empty chair. "Weren't they the first ones to reach Orario? Main Street was flooded with the kids watching their parade."

No one else offered a follow-up comment. Ishtar was checking her nails, Freya was deep in her own thoughts while swishing her wine around, and Hephaestus was grimacing over the amount of paperwork piling up.

"I… am Ganesha!"

And Ganesha was posing dramatically in his chair.

Marius tapped his finger a few more times before abruptly stopping. His hand gripped the armrest. A few seconds passed as he came to a decision. His body shifted as he began to rise out of his seat.

The door swung open. Just as he was about to cancel this meeting did the other party finally arrive. Of course. They had purposely kept him waiting until the literal last second.

Several heads turned to observe the Cainhurst party.

A tall woman walked with an inhuman grace towards her seat. Her skin was as white as snow and hair, long and wavy and braided, was as shimmering as platinum. Her beauty was without peer, outclassing the mystifying elves and even some gods of beauty. Alas, her eyes were covered by a silk handkerchief which hid the upper half of her face. She was in a pure black dress which bared her shoulders and collar.

She was Queen Annalise, ruler of Cainhurst.

Following in her shadow was another tall man with white hair, dressed in the reds of Cainhurst upper-nobility. At his left was the cursed blade, Chikage, and at his right was a projectile weapon with twin barrels. This was the High Chamberlain of Cainhurst, the advisor and bodyguard to the queen.

But the third to enter… Marius had never seen him before.

"Hah?" Loki was the first to voice her feelings. Her brows scrunched at the sight of the boy accompanying the queen and chamberlain.

Snow-white hair, eyes as red as blood, and the modest skin of a peasant. And yet, he was dressed in the same Cainhurst reds as the chamberlain. He did not, however, wear his weapons like prized armaments. He kept his sword tucked underneath the overcoat. And he looked uncomfortable with the attire; his hand kept twitching as though to wanting to reach for the frilly tie and pull it off.

He looked like he didn't belong here and knew it. He looked like he didn't want to be here. He kept giving glances to the chamberlain and the queen. Whatever he saw in them compelled him to stay.

The rest of the gods had mixed impressions. Hephaestus raised her brows in just as much surprise as Loki. Hermes looked… amused. And Freya was giving the boy a piteous look— a sort of motherly look of wanting to embrace the boy as though he were a dying child.

While the boy held no impression to Ishtar at first glance, it was her sharp observation on Freya that altered her opinion. She eyed the boy curiously.

"I am Ganesha!"

Ganesha stood from his chair and posed dramatically at the arrival of Cainhurst.

"…Charmed," Queen Annalise regarded the god before taking her seat.

The gods did not show their displeasure at her disregard. She did not introduce herself nor did she acknowledge their presence. It didn't matter; while annoyed in their own way, they were all happy to get the meeting started.

"It would seem I owe my god a bit of coin," Marius opened as he eyed the queen. "I had believed with the importance of this armistice would your god reveal himself."

"Cainhurst has no god," the queen commented casually, if not bored. "This I have spoketh towards thou before. It matters not when thou covers thine ears. But speak not to us about gods when Ares does not present himself to us."

"If Cainhurst's god refuses to meet with Rakia's," Marius spoke in a tired voice, "then Lord Ares sees no reason in being present. He's sent me in his place just as your god has sent you."

"Then thou'st speaketh on behalf of Rakia?" Annalise questioned with a tinge of amusement. "Thou shall claim the authority to make all decisions on its behalf?"

"I am here to discuss the terms of the accords and review them with my god. In the end, it will be up to him to decide whether to sign or not."

"Then I speak to a mere messenger…" the queen lost the hint of amusement. "So be it. Thou'st demand the return of thine fallen yet continue to peck at our walls like crows? Ares is as presumptuous as he is childish. Shou'st he not cease his pointless blundering, we will take the offensive."

Marius did not look threatened. He did, however, pause to consider her words. "Cainhurst has always hidden itself behind its walls. Not once have you staged an assault. You lack the experience. Should you even manage to surprise us, there is no chance you have in taking Rakia. We have been defending our home from invaders long before your arrival."

"T'would be all the more humiliating when we do surprise thou," Annalise countered. "This morning's defeat is reminder enough. Mayhap Rakia possesses great age, but it fairs no better than a withered husk. Greater things hath crumbled whilst in the hands of an oaf like Ares. Tell us, young prince, how many a widow hath Ares created by throwing his thrall at our guardians?"

Marius did not react to the insults to his god and to his soldiers. He would not be provoked. He had heard worse from his colleagues… and thrice more from his own god.

"That's what this is about?!" Loki slammed her hands onto the table.

"Didn't you get the memo?" Freya asked. "I can only assume you did if you're here."

"I thought this was gonna be important!" Loki flailed around in her seat like a child. "I thought the future of Orario was at stake! This is just some lil' spat they 'otta sort for themselves! Why do we hav'ta be here?!"

"This concerns Orario gravely," Ganesha spoke firmly, leaving no room for argument. "We have been requested to witness this armistice and to act appropriately as a neutral party. We hold a responsibility to not just our own _familias_ but to all who dwell within Orario. The war between Rakia and Cainhurst has made their children strong. The excelia they feed off of each other is cause for alarm. Should things continue at this pace, there is a likely chance one or both kingdoms will become a threat to Orario. One day, their children will be able to match our own."

The gods were left speechless. They always forgot there was a reason why Ganesha deserved a seat here. There was a reason why he had the largest _familia_ in all of Orario.

There was much truth to Ganesha's words. Prince Marius had become the leading general at Level Three. But since starting this crusade against Cainhurst, he had ascended to Level Four after slaying one of the queen's Royal Guard. Since the start of the war, what would normally take a soldier a lifetime to reach his level was taking only a few skirmishes. The average time-expectancy to achieve each Level was being cut into a small margin.

Their numbers and power would be significantly higher… if not for the purpose of this meeting.

"Yeah," Loki snorted as she waved a hand in dismissal. "Like in a million-bajillion years. Orario gotz the Dungeon. Ain't no tougher threat out there than that."

"It pays well anyways to be friendly to our neighbors," Freya offered with a friendly smile at Annalise and Marius. "You never know what they might have to offer."

Loki sulked in boredom but didn't say anything else.

"Young prince," Annalise resumed the conversation as soon as the gods were finished, "thine request goes against the foundations of Cainhurst. We treat our dead with utmost ceremonious care. To do so otherwise would blaspheme against our beliefs. Thou'st request is denied."

Marius' grip on the armchair tightened to the point of cracking the wood. "Those bodies are not yours, witch. They belong to Rakia, its god, and its people. Those are fathers and brothers and sons. I can tolerate your butchery of the unarmed, the disregard of surrender, and the barbaric acts of indecency. But you go too far when you take our dead behind those walls. Everything Cainhurst does goes against the code of conduct of warfare."

The queen was silent as her lips thinned.

"These are thine rules," she spoke softly. "Not mine. I did not agree to follow thine ways of life. Do not maketh demands upon my part when thou and thine god desires the continuation of this war. We are not daft. We see through Ares. He is no different from us and our kin."

Rage flashed through Marius. He did not reply as he sat still to gain control over his feelings. After a quick breath, the coloring of his face returned to normal. But his eyes remained just as fierce, burning with silent wrath.

"I will be the first to agree Lord Ares is a bloodthirsty warmonger," Marius said in a deceptively cold voice. "However, he is no bloodsucking monster like you Cainhurst _vampires_. Ares is a god of war, never a god of death."

"War hold'st the banner of death," Annalise interjected with a slight smile.

"Despite that," Marius nearly hissed, paused to regain himself, then continued, "my god is still the head of his grand _familia_. Every citizen of Rakia is his child. The soldiers who fight for him are his pride and joy. To not send them off to the next world tortures him. He is willing to… compromise to secure their return."

The queen was silent. Marius had expected another snarky retort but welcomed the silence just the same. He could only sit patiently as the queen thought of her next move.

"Good Hunter," she turned her body slightly around in her chair. Her attention never fully turned towards the young man behind her, but the gesture was enough to signify she was addressing him. "Tell us, shalst anyone siege thine home, would thou'st easily forgive them? And should they promise to return amore, would thou'st sit idly or prepare adequately? By any means needed?"

Heads had turned. The gods, who had pretended to care about the engagement between Rakia and Cainhurst, now paid full attention towards the boy. They knew him someway or another.

Marius' brows knitted. Did the queen favor his voice because of his young age and inexperience? He could have been a fresh voice with newfound insight, outside of her usual court of vipers. It would explain his discomfort for the Cainhurst attire. But… why did the gods eye him in such a way?

It was as if the queen had picked up the boy off the streets of Orario itself!

Yet she spoke in a new tone as if she had known the boy… intimately.

"I…" the boy muttered as he looked around. He understood his position. He understood the point of the question. He understood he was being tasked with choosing his morality or the better good. He understood whatever he said would dictate how the queen would react thereafter. It was a struggle he wasn't accustomed to.

"Who is this?" Marius demanded in a booming voice.

Heads turned back his way. This was good. He couldn't allow the fate of Rakia to fall under the uncertainty of a child. The rising of his voice forced the conversation back onto him… or at least prolong the boy's decision.

Whether the boy realized this or not was unimportant. But, the boy gave a sigh of relief, only visible to Marius as all eyes were drawn upon him instead.

"His name is Bell Cranel," the goddess Hephaestus answered among everyone. Marius blinked; while he knew the gods were aware of this individual, he expected the queen to answer who stood among her court. "He is an adventurer of Orario, belonging to _Hestia Familia_."

Even more questions sprang to Marius' mind.

"I thank thee for enlightening us, goddess," Annalise was the one to respond. "We were not aware of his status in this world. Nevertheless, the question was not addressed to thineself. The young prince asketh who resides within our company."

Hephaestus' brows rose not in insult but in acceptance. As in, she accepted the words Marius shared earlier regarding Cainhurst and its arrogance.

The queen raised a hand, palm raised, gesturing to the boy, Bell. She spoke clearly and with the authority befitting of a ruler, "Let it be known here and now, I present upon thee—"

"BELL!"

Heads snapped around and some stood in alarm. Marius had been one of them with a hand at his sword. He had to double-take once he realized who had interrupted the meeting had been a small goddess.

A goddess with black hair and a scandalous white dress with her... _modesty—_ the term being used as loosely as possible— upheld by a silken royal thread. She held the height and proportions of a child… sans the bosom that thwarted even the most alluring of grown women. She had kicked open the double doors sealing the conference chamber and stormed inside without announcement.

There were two adventurers behind her. One, a blonde, with a raised hand as though attempting to stop her and failing to do such. The other was a lithe Amazoness who had her arms crossed behind her head and a look unsure if it should be amused or terrified.

"G-Goddess?!" the young man spun around in alarm.

Ah. Then this must be the goddess Hestia, his patron goddess.

"I've come to save you!" Hestia pronounced boldly with two fists planted on her hips. "I came running here as soon as I heard you were kidnapped by some Cainhurst hoodlum!"

…When Marius suggested the boy had been picked up on the streets, it was an example. He didn't realize it had been literal. _Even more_ questions were storming through his head.

"You have a lot of explaining to do, mister!" the goddess shouted as soon as she approached her child. Never mind she was interrupting a conference that decided the course of history. "What's this I hear about private meetings with Wallenwhatzitface?!"

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Loki shouted, slamming her hands onto the table and standing abruptly.

"Apparently our kids have been meeting each other in secret!" Hestia shouted back.

"Aiz! Explain! Now!" Loki barked at the blonde adventurer.

Said adventurer gave a slow blink. She didn't reply. Her expression showed she was accustomed to her goddess' antics and had no intention of playing along.

Bell wasn't at that level of understanding with his goddess, or perhaps his understanding with his goddess was a whole different category. Either way, he was on the verge of having an anxiety attack.

"W-What are you doing here, goddess?" he tried to appease her by distracting her. "This is a very important meeting. You shouldn't break the doors like that and march in here. _Hestia Familia_ can't afford to repay the damages."

Hestia looked like she had something else to say based on how wide she opened her mouth for the next screaming rant. But his words struck a chord. Her face whitened as she eyed the doors she had kicked open. There was a large imprint of her foot planted in the wood.

While this debacle went on, Marius took his time gathering his thoughts and savoring the wine the Guild had offered. He knew he would need this moment when he reengaged with the queen.

"…It was like that when I got here," Hestia looked away from everyone and began to whistle, as though to shirk off the blame.

"Cainhurst shalst pay for the damages," Annalise said dryly. She turned her body enough to peer at the goddess but did not greet her respectively. "Thou'st must forgive our indulgence. We hath taken this one's consult without prior warning. Hath we known he was here, a proper message would'st thou receive in advance. This confusion is ours alone to fault."

Hestia was flatfooted by the queen's words. She blinked a few times, eyed the woman, and bowed her head in both shame and gratitude. "Thank you very much. And don't worry about it. I was just surprised is all. Can you just tell me why you took Bell? He didn't do something like having you innocently falling to his charm? He's been doing that a lot lately."

She said those last few words while giving her child a vicious glare.

"G-Goddess…" the boy blushed with embarrassment. He kept glancing back at the blonde adventurer his goddess had come with. "I don't know why you keep saying that. I don't know what you're talking about."

Marius raised a brow when he saw the queen's lips curl into a smile.

"Innocent," she tasted the word. "T'would be the most appropriate word to use."

Both boy and goddess looked her way and muttered a single syllable in perfect unison. "Eh?"

Annalise raised her hand once more to gesture at the boy. She spoke clearly, making sure she had the full attention of everyone (including the unwarranted guests). "I present here and now upon thee, my dear husband and future king of Cainhurst."

The room fell into a deeper silence. It was as if the city itself paused to consider her words. Marius had no idea what it meant. He understood little of Cainhurst politics. But to choose an adventurer as a husband? One who resided in Orario at that? There would no doubt cause problems on her end. So for what reason would she announce this?

…Surely she didn't pick up _any_ boy off the street and decide to make him king. Perhaps. No, it seemed like the conniving Cainhurst way. If anyone was going to become an idol, who better to become a puppet ruler under the queen's thumb than some witless lad? Combined with his status as an adventurer, it was possible she would open connections with Orario?

Was that her goal? To get Orario to assist her? Was Cainhurst being crippled by Rakia's constant sieges? But if such were such the case, then why not choose a husband from any of the _familia_ gathered here? Marius had heard of Hestia only once… Ares had called her the laziest person in all of Genkai.

Marius couldn't wrap his head around Annalise's schemes. He sat in his chair going through hundreds of scenarios.

The gods, with their great wisdom, must have come to similar conclusions to him. Some looked amused, others irritated, some worried, and one (Ishtar) held no interest.

The goddess Hestia hadn't come to any of these conclusions. Time itself froze around her. Her body was as stiff as stone. Her hair defied gravity with how petrified the queen's announcement made her.

"H-H-Husband?" the boy in question spoke as quietly as a mouse. He looked on the verge of fainting.

"…Why'st thou most surprised?" Annalise turned more than she ever had towards Bell. She fully regarded him— which spoke volumes considering she never glanced at the gods. "Were it not thineself who presented I with this ring?"

She raised her other hand with the knuckles extended. There, on her ring finger, was a band of silver clasping a diamond.

All eyes moved in unison from the ring, to the boy, to the ring, and back at the boy.

He was reduced to a gaping fish. His mouth was open and noise was coming out— protests and arguments and excuses but none he could voice. It was all pointless jargon.

Then, all of a sudden, as if struck with an epiphany, he shut his mouth so hard his lips began to implode. It looked more like he had swallowed a lemon. Everyone in the room watched as all the blood in his face washed away and cold sweat beaded his brow.

"Wow," the Amazon girl whistled, breaking the spell of silence. "You really struck out there, Aizu."

Aiz Wallenstein, a name Marius knew well, did not react to her teammate's words. All of her attention was locked on the boy. She was watching him intently.

"W-W-What's the meaning of this?!" Hestia screamed, snapping back into reality. "Bell?! Husband?! No way! No how! I don't approve of this! I won't hand over my Bell to you… You… You… YOU HOMEWRECKER YOU!"

In a fit of blind rage, the little goddess leapt at the queen.

Her child was there instantly to snatch her out of the air and hold her back.

"Bell, let me go!" the goddess squirmed in his arms. Yet, he held her still like a small child, her feet dangling off the ground. "Someone needs to teach this lady some class! You don't steal a goddess' child and expect to get away with it!"

"Goddess!" Bell held her tight. "Please calm down. A-Annalise is joking. She's joking! Please tell her, Your Majesty…"

He was more begging for his sake rather than hers.

As… distracting as the scene was, Marius was paying more attention to the chamberlain. It was not missed by him, the gods, and the two adventurers at the door.

The sound of a click. It belonged to a sword being placed back into its sheath. The high chamberlain meant to unleash the Chikage onto the small goddess in defense of his queen.

"…I jest not," Annalise, ignoring all else around her, especially the taboo she nearly committed by her name, continued to give her full attention to Bell. "Time hath passed much between us. Near a century awaited us for thou. I am not one to forget promises, _Paleblood_."

There was meaning behind that title. Nobody understood it. It was a term Marius had never heard of before.

It meant something to Bell. His eyes widened slightly.

Annalise returned to facing forward. She waved a hand at Bell, "Thou'st dismissed for the time being. T'would seem there is ought to reminisce. We will call upon thee when the time is right. Take thine goddess before she maketh a mistake none may remedy."

"…Y-Yes," Bell said in a squeaky voice. He continued to carry his goddess as he hurried towards the door. He paused only to briefly say, "Oh, t-thank you again for the clothes. Um… I don't think I can repay you but I'll try."

"Worry not," she said, almost sweetly. "Tis a gift. Thou must present thyself appropriately for such occasions."

He bowed his head (still holding onto his dangling goddess) and scurried out of the room with haste.

"This isn't over, you hear me?!" his goddess continued to shout. "I'll never hand over Bell to you! Never! He's mine! MINE!"

"Sorry for interrupting," the Amazon put up a hand and a flimsy smile.

"Please excuse us," Aiz Wallenstein offered a more formal bow of apology. Together, they walked out of the room and shut the door… as best they could. The goddess Hestia had left an impression at the locks and the doors couldn't close fully.

Aside from Hestia's distant shouting, the only noise being made was Annalise's… giggling.

"That was a cruel joke," Marius commented. "Even from you."

"T'was no jest," Annalise retorted, though the smile remained.

"You expect me to believe you weren't making a fool of that boy?" he raised a brow in scorn. "He couldn't be any better than a peasant. He looks too green to be a competent adventurer. He's probably never been in possession of anything more expensive than that ring. So why not give it to royalty? Kings and queens deserve only the finest of jewels. The boy clearly didn't know the significance of the offering."

Annalise's smile shifted as a tender hand caressed the ring on her finger. It was almost loving. Almost. He wouldn't dare to be fooled by this witch.

"Oi."

Their attention was distracted once more by the outspoken Loki. The goddess had a piercing glare directed at Annalise.

"Don' think yur off the hook with that stunt there," Loki said with a voice as cold and as sharp as the finest steel. "Itty Bitty might be reckless when it comes to her only child, but that don' mean yur dog should cut her down."

There was a taboo all followed in this world. One must _never_ harm a deity. It mattered not if they belonged to another _familia_.

A deep enough wound inflicted onto a deity activated the power of their divinity, their Arcanum. While it would heal them of all energy, it would also rob them of their physical forms and send them back to the heavens. Once there… a god can never descend back into the mortal plane again.

"I care not," Annalise gave a dry rebuttal.

"…What was that?" demanded Loki.

"Cainhurst doth not bend to the will of the gods," Annalise said. "We share not respect for those who abandon their divine duties in the name of _sport_. If thou insists on walking amongst us, then we shall treat thyself as one of us. If thou desires blood, will blood be shed in turn."

Marius folded his hands together while leaning back in his chair. If things played out accordingly, he wouldn't need to make peace with Cainhurst. Their prideful queen would ruin her entire country by declaring war on Orario.

"Now, now," Freya spoke up. Though she held a friendly smile, her eyes shone its true colors. "There's no need to get so upset, Loki. The child here is only saying she's willing to defend herself. Isn't that right?"

The hidden meaning behind her warning wasn't missed.

"It is so," Annalise was not visibly intimidated in her response. "However, as it is thou who grants quarter during this conference, we will abide by thine rules."

She turned her head slightly and spoke towards the chamberlain. "Should'st one of the divine threaten us, immobilize them."

The chamberlain gave no response. His eyes only flicked to his queen's briefly before going back to watching the room.

"Will this suffice?" Annalise returned to the table, speaking in clarity as though to mock the gods.

"That'll do just fine," Freya replied before anyone else. The other gods looked like they had something to say but fell back, not wanting to argue with Freya.

Marius almost let the frown show. He shouldn't have hoped Cainhurst would topple so easily.

"Queen Annalise," he cleared his voice. Now that he had time to regain his patience and fortitude, he was ready to face her once more. "Make your demands. It is clear you desire something if you have traveled this far to meet with me."

She put up a hand to stop him, "No, young prince. I craved not to meet with thee. It was Ares who started this war. It was Ares who maketh these demands. And it was Ares who demanded here, to neutral grounds, when he refused to meet us between our lands. My first demand, young prince— young _messenger—_ is to tell Ares we will not speak of the matter any further until he sits at this table."

"He will argue the same," Marius countered. "He will demand to meet with your god."

"Then more of his children shalt not return," Annalise rose out of her seat, concluding the meeting on her own. "How many more will we claim before Ares lowers his pride? If his intentions lay true, he will meet with me. Or… mayhap his intentions lie elsewhere?"

She offered him a smile before turning and leaving. Her bodyguard followed like a shadow.

Marius let the frown show this time. Of course. Cainhurst was the last to show up and the first to leave. No courtesies were given.

"That's it?!" Loki screamed at the door. "All that squabble and nothin' got solved?!"

"This… might drag out longer than anticipated," Hermes commented as he picked up his hat and donned it. He was preparing to leave.

"No duh!" Loki argued back before turning to Marius. "You! I don' know what Ares' big deal is, but we have better things to do than to sit around all day with yur armies outside our walls! Most o' my _familia_ is out there playing overqualified patrol guards! There's a Dungeon that's needin' to be explored!"

"Believe me, Goddess Loki," Marius had a weary voice, "nothing would please me more than to reach peace as soon as possible. My men are tired and… frightened. I want to be rid of Cainhurst once and for all. It is the pride of my god that keeps this war going."

"Ares always had a thick head, even back in Genkai," Hermes lifted his head at a distant memory.

"He _has_ tried to attack us five times," Freya commented, receiving nods from the other gods. "But, Prince Marius, was it? Something you said caught my attention. You said your men were frightened. Is it because you don't know what Cainhurst does with your dead or… something else?"

Marius' lower lip twitched.

"There is a reason why we call Cainhurst and their knights… vampires."

0-0-0

Nameless Cainhurst Knight-T7M1, we shall henceforth address him as Theodore of House Mosby, was a newly ordained noble after completing his twenty years of extraordinary service in honor of the queen. Just as all else who gained the title of nobility, he started as a _chevalier._ He held a small piece of land at the furthest edge of Cainhurst territory with the pig farms as his main source of income. So poor was his land, he couldn't properly tax his people without ruining the farmers out of their homes.

More oft than not, rather than being the rich and elegant noble he dreamed of becoming since a small child, he assisted with the manual labor.

It did not matter if he was the center of mockery for the other nobles. He had joined in their ranks, was acknowledged by the queen, and was able to partake in the sacrament of the hunt.

His spirit was elevated to new heights when the queen had called upon her entire armed forces to rally to her. Theodore had gathered the young lads of his farm, donned his one and only Cainhurst set, and marched along his fellow nobles. Never could he have been prouder.

But this was not the end of his dream. No, this was merely the beginning. By being part of the army, to venture to the greatest hunt of all time, to fight against Rakian soldiers and bring their blood before the queen… this was the sole purpose of a Cainhurst Vileblood. And, one day, he will be the one who presented the queen with the blood she needed to bear an heir of blood.

"Oh look," Nameless Cainhurst Knight-C4T2 had snickered at him. "Ted is _spotless_ again."

But never could he fight. His superiors would give him orders to stand back and guard. To sit idly and fiddle his thumb over his Reiterpallasch while the rest of the nobility took arms and fight the Rakian soldiers. Only rarely, rare enough to count with one hand, had a stray soldier made its way towards him and could he dip his weapon in their blood.

It was enough to satisfy his needs. He needed blood just as much as the queen. But he could never find enough bodies to have his own fill and presenting the extra for the queen. He could only fight enough soldiers to not give into the bloodlust.

"How _ever_ will you find enough dregs, Ted?" cackled another Nameless Knight.

To bathe in the blood of the enemy was the greatest honor to any Cainhurst Knight. The more drenched were their suits, the more blood they had claimed for their queen. To have little blood was probe to mockery.

To be spotless, like Theodore, was to insult the queen.

He knew they were doing this on purpose. They were purposely making sure he would not participate in the sacrament. It infuriated him. But he had not been blessed by the queen enough to challenge any of them to a duel. Not they, who had been in servitude years before him.

"Wasn't it you who wanted to give the queen a child?" another sneered. "Or are you just a liar? Don't tell me you just wanted the honor like some pretender!"

"I think he misunderstood the oath," another whispered but purposely loud enough for him to hear. "Mayhap he wanted to give the queen a child _that way_."

They continued to laugh at him. They continued to belittle him. They continued to rob him of his honor and prevent him from fulfilling his sacred vows. How can he not serve his queen if his fellow countrymen shafted him?!

He shed no blood since marching. Not against the stray monsters, not against Rakian soldiers, not even against wild game. If he continued to go without partaking in sacrament any longer… he may have to cut down one of his own retainers to stay sane.

Then approached Orario. Once more were they met with Rakian soldiers, colliding at the same time at the crossroads. Here he had to save his honor!

Yet, his blade tasted no blood.

He was losing his mind! He was so thirsty. It itched at the back of his throat and gnawed at his brain. He was beginning to look at his countrymen like food. Not once since setting up camp could he release his Reiterpallasch. His grip was leaving an impression on the leather.

At dusk came the third skirmish against Rakia since arriving at Orario.

And here was where he broke.

"VAMPIRE!" screamed several Nameless Rakian Soldiers.

They did not try to save the man Theodore had embraced. They fled in terror. The soldier flailed around, trying to break free, screaming at his comrades to save him. He continued to scream even as Theodore sank his teeth into his neck and tore apart the flesh. He dug his face into the wound, drinking the rich ichor and bringing his senses into a euphoria.

Theodore dropped the man only when he needed to gasp for air. His heart was hammering as his mind was a cloudy mist. He needed his next fill. He was searching already for his next prey.

The sound of gunfire went off as something sharp stabbed into his back and knocked him off his feet.

"Oh Ted."

He rose to his knees. Surrounding him, encircling him without an inch of space, were several Cainhurst Knights. They were looking down at him in pity, in disgust, and with glee.

"Couldn't control yourself?"

"You're disgusting, letting yourself fall that deep into bloodlust."

"If you were that thirsty, you should have said so!"

"A beast is what you are."

"You are no knight."

"You are not worthy to be a Vileblood."

"Such a shame. You'll never be the one to give the queen her child."

He could only look up at them in horror as they drew their weapons.

And that was the end of this Nameless Knight.

0-0-0

"Bell, not that I don't mind this that much, but can you let me down now? It's kinda embarrassing being handled like this."

"Um…" Bell said but didn't release her.

They were back on the streets of the city. The sun had already set, magic lanterns lit the roads, and the crowds had thinned with the flock heading to the night service establishments. There were still a good number of people in these parts, mostly consisting of merchants and part-time workers getting off and heading home. A lot stopped to stare at his foreign garments as well as the goddess he was carrying like a stuffed bear.

"Thank you for coming, I think," he said to the two adventurers still following him. "I didn't need saving… but I still appreciate it."

"Eh… it's more like we didn't have a choice," Tiona muttered lowly while looking away.

Aiz didn't respond, only nod.

"It… It might sound rude but…" he fidgeted where he stood. "I'm sorry to ask, but can we call it a night? I'd like to be alone with my goddess."

"Ehhhh?!" Tiona shrieked. "But we went through that hassle so you could— _gwawh!_ "

Aiz elbowed her partner in the ribs, "We understand. Have a good night. See you tomorrow."

She bowed politely before turning to leave. Tiona rubbed her side before giving Bell a more cheerful departing wave. She turned to follow Aiz.

Bell watched them go. He waited until they were out of hearing distance. He caught Tiona glancing over her shoulder to look at him. Aiz seemed to understand his intent and kept walking without doing the same as Tiona.

Hestia could only hang limply in Bell's arms. Really, she didn't mind him holding her like this. But couldn't he have done it behind closed doors? To be manhandled like this in such a public setting was embarrassing! She already had a laughable reputation as it was already.

Bell still didn't release her as he walked a few paces and took a seat at a nearby bench. She sat between his legs, somewhat relieved she had something else to support her. The blood was starting to flow back to her legs and giving her prickling tingles.

Bell was silent as he buried his face into her hair.

She was about to ask what came over him when she felt him start to shake. The sounds came next. Small, withheld, but as clear as ever to Hestia.

"Goddess…" he was crying. "Please don't do something like that ever again."

She didn't understand. "What're you talking about? I'm your goddess. If someone kidnaps you, I'm going to get involved."

"N-No, it's not that," he lifted his head slightly, just enough to pull his face away but kept his brow rested on the back of her head. "Maybe you can fight with your fellow gods. But Annalise is… different. The man she was with… he was about to kill you."

Her eyes widened, "Eh? Kill? Bell, be serious. No one would harm a god. It's against the law!"

 _Orario's law_ , she left out. But even Rakia followed it. Why shouldn't Cainhurst?

"He would have," Bell argued and squeezed her tighter. Her back rested against his chest. "That man… I don't know who he is. But he's a Hunter like everyone else. And… he has as much of a bloody aura as Lady Maria."

She understood this reaction now. He was wholly terrified for her sake. That was why he had panicked, why he hadn't let her go since then. He didn't want to let her go in fear of a man from another realm getting to her.

"Okay," she said softly. She raised her hands until they rested on the arms embracing her. "It's okay, Bell. I'm safe. I know you would have protected me. I know you always will. That's one of the things I love about you."

They remained like this in silence. Minutes passed as they breathed in the other's company, even after he had calmed down.

"Bell," she spoke up when she thought the time was appropriate, "I think we need to continue that conversation from earlier. You know the one. There's more to the story you haven't told me, isn't there?"

"…Yes," he said eventually. "I'm sorry, goddess. I couldn't tell you everything that evening. There's a lot to tell and… I was afraid you wouldn't believe me."

"It's a big pill to swallow," she admitted. "Honestly, an infestation turning people into monsters based on a parasite of alien origins? It sounds like one of those horror stories I used to read! But, if you say it's the truth, I'll believe it."

…There was also the horrifying fact that _no one_ can lie to a god. Everything Bell had said had been the absolute truth. He either believed it to the point of being completely insane… or it was genuine fact.

"First thing's first!" Hestia raised a finger. "Cainhurst and that homewrecking queen of theirs. You clearly know something about them. I want to know everything.

"And you can start with _why_ you gave her an engagement ring."

"Let's… let's go home first," Bell offered with a nervous smile. Only then did he release her.

Hestia hopped onto her feet. She pulled Bell onto his and they shortly began their walk back home. His story could wait. It was something best discussed in isolation.

"By the way, Bell," Hestia thought of something to pass the time. "When were you going to tell me about your private affairs with Aiz Wallensomething?"

"E-Eventually," he scratched at his cheek. "And please don't say it like that. Aiz and I are only training. That's all!"

"Oh? Aiz now, is it? Since when did you get so chummy to call her by her given name?"

"She insisted! I can't say no to a high-class adventurer like her!"

"And you're sure your crush with her had nothing to do with it?"

"…"

"Well whatever. So this means you'll be spending a lot of time with her. Should I be worried? You're already blind to the charms of the goddess you live with."

"Sorry, I didn't hear any of that. What was it?"

"Nothing, nothing! Oh! Bell, wanna stop and pick up some food? I haven't eaten since lunch."

"Yeah, food sounds good. Hmm?"

"Think of anything you want?"

"I'm fine with whatever you want, goddess. It's just… I can't help but think I'm forgetting about something…"

"It's probably not that important. And if it is, you'll remember it eventually."

"…I guess. I'm sure it's nothing."

A pause.

"Something wrong Bell?"

"Just… Just a shiver. I hope I'm not getting sick."


	13. Chapter 13

**Dear Glenn,**

 **Hi! How you doing? You know, ever since my last letter to you I suddenly notice my readers have been giving me very specific feedback. Remember when I told you I was going to take a break for a year after the New Year? Yeah, my readers have either wished me luck or asked for me to stay.**

 **You didn't tell them anything, did you?**

 **Of course not! I trust you! Anyways, I wanted to bring up an idea with you real quick. See, there is a possibility I can stay and updated all these stories on this site throughout the next year. But, the only problem with that is it'll cut into my time with my original works. And I'm REALLY wanting to expand Synthesis, redo Reverse, and start those other projects I mentioned on the chat. It's also hard considering fanfiction cuts into a lot of my personal life. I love it, sure, but there's only so much I can do as the starving artist.**

 **This was this internet thing called... hmm... the name escapes me. But for now let's call it a Pat.**

 **So I'm thinking about opening up one of these Pats after the New Year. I'd like to dedicate it mostly for my original works. But I can also update other projects on the side. Plus, I'm thinking about offering a few rewards. Any ideas what those can be?**

 **Please let me know what you think. Also, keep this from those losers in the chat. Especially Aaron. Cuz, seriously, fuck him.**

 **Sincerely yours,**

 _ **Zyra the Great~**_

...Right, so, please ignore the letter up there. It's not for you.

This is also a note from the author, just to let you know. Some things to come out before the next chapter starts.

First, fan art! I've finally figured out the links and have updated my profile. They're there with instructions on how to view the images. Thank you once again, Oslight, for making things that make me squeal like a fangirl.

Second, a mistake regarding terminology. Previous chapter I kept calling Heaven "Genkai". Totally wrong and thank you [Person's Name I Can't Remember or Find] for pointing that out. You know who you are. The actual name for Heaven is "Tenkai". The term will be used in future chapters from this point on.

Third, WHY IS THERE SO MUCH ON CAINHURST?! Like, seriously, the fuck?! Okay, so, aside from the things I have planned and don't want to share for spoiler reasons, the number... three thing discussed in the reviews in regards to an NPC named Arianna. She wears some Cainhurst garb in-game and thus it's highly believed she's from Cainhurst (plus she gives you healing blood directly from her veins so there's that). I have **A** \- count it, one- plan for her in this story. Unfortunately... she won't be brought up in the DanMachi verse. Her involvement is mostly with Bell in the Bloodborne flashbacks. When those will be shared, I honestly don't know.

Really, this arc is getting longer than it should be. Notice how all the arcs are like two to three chapters only? We're already on chapter three and it's still just beginning. I need to get back to my old pacing and hurry the hell up. Or I'll never reach my deadline.

Oh. One last thing. I'm asking everybody.

Who does everyone want to see Bell more involved with? And by that I mean who he's going to wind up with on one hot steamy night where she pushes him down on the bed and-

Eh. Rambling.

ON WITH THE SHOW!

* * *

 _She was trapped. Cursed and imprisoned. When the Church's Executioners lay siege upon her castle was there naught she could do. They had come not in early dawn or in the dead of night. They had come during the hour of feast. They had come when her precious Vilebloods partook in the holy communion and slit throats when encumbered by the euphoria of blood._

 _Pandemonium erupted. Her Royal Guard swept her away, to fall back onto her throne for a final defense. Her subjects were slain. But so long as she remained unharmed would the Vilebloods continue to exist._

 _It was pointless._

 _Her Knights were vanquished. Her Royal Guard were bested. And her husband beheaded just like all the rest._

 _But she laughed. She laughed and cursed the fool Logarius who led this siege. No matter what the man would try, her body was undying. Burn her. Hang or behead her. Drain her of blood. Nothing they tried could execute her._

 _So sealed was she. They bound an iron mask over her face and locked her away in her throne. And Logarius sacrificed himself. The arrant fool had made sure he would remain her eternal gaoler._

 _But Annalise was patient. She had existed long before the Church. Her ancestry had ties to the ancient Pthumerians. She had seen the world change throughout the ages. No matter how strong this cage was, it will eventually crumble to the will of time just as a rock is ground by the shifting tides._

 _As she predicted, her savior had come. How long had she been here? Trapped in time by the curse of Logarius? It mattered not, she supposed._

 _The first thing she noticed about this visitor was not his approach. His blood was fresh, so young and full of life. He walked with a gaunt of caution, of wonder, and… innocence. But, no, none of these things mattered._

 _He reeked of the moon. He had been touched by the Old One, Flora._

 _"Visitor…" she spoke just as she would for any she granted audience. "I claim no subjects. But here lieth our throne. Kneel afore us… or get thee gone."_

 _The boy, the one still covered in the blood of Logarius, approached until he was at the steps of her throne. He did not move. He was transfixed by her. It was as though he had never lain eyes on someone such as she before._

 _How quant._

 _"Such impudence," her tone turned sharp. He reacted with a jolt. "Defiled, are we, yet still Queen. We shall not give audience to an ill-mannered beast. Get thee gone."_

 _He grew flustered and did exactly what she demanded. He knelt… in a fashion he was all too familiar with. It was more akin to him sitting on his heels. Rather than kneel in fealty, he knelt like a small child expecting a lecture._

 _…She supposed it would do. Kneel he did._

 _"Visitor," she lightened her tone. "Moon-scented Hunter, I am Annalise, Queen of Castle Cainhurst. Ruler of the Vilebloods."_

 _She paused. Not out of consideration. But to make sure he would hear._

 _"And sworn enemy of the Church," she went on with a small, dry laugh. "Yet, our people are murdered and we are prisoner to this wretched mask. What is it thou'rt in search of?"_

 _"I… I don't know," his voice was small. Bewildered. He sounded frightened and unsure of himself._

 _This was her savior? This was the one who bested her turned subjects? This was the one who had traversed throughout her castle and broken the seal left by Logarius? No weak soul could have done such things. And yet… how could someone so… innocent achieve it?_

 _Pure. This young one was pure. A diamond buried deep in a world of dark and cold._

 _"Well, well…" she smiled behind her iron mask. "An odd Hunter thou art indeed. We've tired of these piteous nights. Share in our plight and take oath against the Church. If though would'st this path walk… I prithee partake in my rotted blood."_

 _She would have this one. This pure soul. He would make a fine Vileblood. One who would not scheme behind her back. One who would not stab at his neighbor. One who would not follow her blindly but out of his own obligation. One with a mind and soul and heart greater than her most zealous of Royal Guards._

 _She ran her thumb across her wrist. Her blood began to ooze out. She leaned forward and extended her reach for him._

 _"N-No," he said. He bowed further until his brow kissed the floor. "I'm sorry! B-But one of my friends is from the Church. I… don't want to be his enemy. I don't want to fight another one…"_

 _Heartbreak. Something in his words was making him sob. From what she could assume, this Hunter had to put down one of his fellow comrades. Such was to be expected in the hunt. Yet he still cried for his lost._

 _She found… she couldn't corrupt this one. No. She_ _ **wouldn't**_ _. Not this one. Not this child._

 _She withdrew her hand._

 _"A wise choice. There is no more to be said. Away from mine gaze."_

 _He lingered on. He tried to speak further with her but she refused him. She would not be tempted to corrupt this one. Let him be gone to finish his duties as a Hunter. Now that the seal was broken could another be chosen as a Vileblood._

 _It wasn't long until she was left alone once more. She sat in her throne, waiting for any else to approach._

 _How much time had passed? Days? Weeks? Years? She did not know. Time… was nonexistent since the curse had been placed on Cainhurst. Vanquished as Logarius was, the lingering residue of her subjects and their hatred for the Church kept her territory in stasis._

 _A new visitor had come._

 _She did not greet this one. She recognized the scent anywhere._

 _A Church Executioner._

 _That boy… he had mentioned he was acquainted with a member of the Church. He must have spread the word of this place._

 _She only laughed as this Executioner spewed his piteous nonsense, calling her a heretic and how he must make a true martyr out of Logarius. She continued to laugh when he delivered his weapon onto her being— a cartwheel. He brought it around again and again, reciting prayers and spitting curses at her. Even as she fell out of her chair. Even as her body was smashed beyond recognition. Even as her face was squashed enough for her mask to fall off._

 _Her body was reduced to nothing more than chunks of meat._

 _Yet still she lived._

 _"Master, look!" the Executioner raised his arms and laughed with pride. His breathing was still haggard from the effort but he was overwhelmed in the euphoria of his quest. "I've done it. I've done it! I smashed and pounded this rotten siren into fleshly pink pulp!_

 _"There, you filthy monstrosity! What good's your immortality now! Try stirring up trouble in this sorry state! All mangled and twisted, with every inside on the outside, for all the world to see!"_

 _He laughed riotously. His laughter shadowed the fleet of rushing footsteps coming from the grand staircase entrance._

 _"Alfred!" gasped the moon-scented Hunter. Nothing but horror sang in his voice._

 _"Oh, you, is it?" the Executioner turned and welcomed the Hunter. "Look at this! Thanks to you, I've done it! Well, isn't it wonderful?"_

 _The boy approached the throne. His steps were light while he shivered. There, at the core of her being, at the largest piece of meat that remained, he approached. He picked her up in his hands as though cradling a wounded creature. Was this how she saw her in her pitiable state?_

 _"Now Master can be canonized as a true martyr! I've done it! I have!"_

 _As the boy cried for her, the Executioner was drunk in his triumph._

 _She did not understand why he cried for her. Did this fool think this was his fault? Perhaps it was. Perhaps it was not. She had never once despised him. She couldn't. This was bound to happen, just as her kingdom sieged before. So long as a single Executioner existed, she would be hunted. Always._

 _"Why?!" the boy screamed and spun at the Executioner. "Why did you do this?! She was harmless! She did nothing to you! I told you about her because I wanted to learn more! I didn't want this to happen!"_

 _"…Just what is the meaning of this?" the Executioner asked with curiosity and a hint of insult._

 _"Why?" the boy sobbed more. "Why? Alfred, please. Just tell me why. We… She wasn't a beast. We're supposed to hunt beasts. We aren't supposed to hurt anything else…"_

 _"You're jealous, aren't you?" the Executioner adjusted the grip on his wheel._

 _The air grew tense. Slowly, the boy placed her flesh into his pocket while the other hand reached for his hidden blade._

 _"Alfred… you're mad."_

 _"Unclean wench!" the Executioner roared and turned his weapon on the boy._

 _The wheel came down. The boy only had an instant to dive out of the way just as the wooden device crushed the marbled tiles beneath. He rolled and quickly rose to his feet. His blade was drawn._

 _The two engaged in combat. The Executioner, despite the size and weight of his weapon, was fast and unrelenting. Though the boy was fast and knew of a talent long forgotten, the art of_ Quickening _, the Executioner did not give him an opening. The boy could have fled. But, no, this was not a fight for survival._

 _This was another hunt. The two were trying to kill each other as they saw the other maddened. Had the boy never been introduced to zealous behavior? Did he mistake it as beasthood? And there was no doubt the Executioner thought him a traitor for defending the Vileblood Queen._

 _"Vile monstrocity! Bloody fool! Has the blood gone to your head? Pathetic, as you deserve!"_

 _She witnessed the boy's tenacity. But there was hesitation in his steps. She may be no warrior, but she had seen many a number of duels to acquire an eye in single-handed combat._

 _The boy's words echoed throughout her consciousness. He did not want to take the life of this Alfred._

 _But all Hunters must hunt._

 _"B-Blood!" the Executioner gasped as the crooked blade found its way into his chest. "You've spilled my blood. Pray for Master Logarius… in my stead…"_

 _The Executioner took his last breath._

 _And the boy cried some more._

 _From this point on, she was carried within the boy's person. Many times did he try to heal her, pricking her with injections of the healing blood. Nothing he tried worked._

 _Still, he sought an answer. She did not know what drove him. What right person would carry a piece of raw meat in their care for such a long journey? Was he aware she was still living, still conscious of all his actions? Was he aware she was watching him?_

 _The night was long as he carried her throughout his hunt. How many beasts did she see him slay? How many of his fellow Hunters? How many tears did this one shed for both?_

 _She wondered if she would be left like this forever. To be in his care as he endlessly pursued an unknown means of undoing this form?_

 _She found… she wouldn't mind._

 _"…Ascend Oedon Chapel," she heard him mutter suddenly. A surge of insight came through him. He changed course and headed to his destination._

 _And from there did he find the headquarters of the Choir, the highest sect belonging to the Church. He walked through their orphanage, purged the place of beasts and corrupt walking its halls, and walked through its enchanted garden. As though guided by an unknown force, he did not search through the library or hidden chambers of the Church's heads. Instead, he found a simple elevator fashioned at the core of the institution._

 _It burrowed down, deeper than the height of the Church's clocktower._

 _They entered a cavern, vast and shining with florescent vegetation. A lake took most of the floor, though it was shallow enough for the boy to walk with the water reaching no higher than his calves._

 _Her core shuddered as she sensed what the boy was approaching._

 _It was tall, larger than any beast they have come across. It took on the similar physique of a slug with extending tendrils and chitin plating. To describe it did it no justice. Its physical appearance meant little compared to what it represented._

 _Its body hummed with_ _ **power**_ _. This was undeniable. Its vessel was merely an anchor for this celestial entity. This creature could undo them both if it so desired._

 _This… This was an Old One._

 _The boy gazed up at it not in awe. But… in sorrow._

 _"Simon…" the boy spoke softly. "Alfred. Ludwig. This is what they meant. What the Church had done. Why people they took in were turned into things. All the experimentations. What Iosefka was trying to achieve… you're the cause of it, aren't you?"_

 _The Old One paid him no mind. He was nothing to it._

 _"I'm sorry."_

 _The Old One let loose an unearthly howl once the boy unsheathed his weapon and plunged the blade into its hide._

 _The fool! He sought to challenge an Old One?! Many great and fearsome beasts had she seen him vanquish, but to face an Old One was nothing!_

 _Ebrietas, Daughter of the Cosmos, turned and unleashed the powers of the universe onto this foolish mortal. Hunter or no, protected by the Dream or not, there was no greater force out there beyond the likes of an Old One._

 _Yet the boy fought. And, beyond her comprehension, he fought on equal ground to the Old One. For every blast of cosmic radiance the Old One unleashed, the boy carved his blades through its skin. As his skin was burnt with arcane forces, it was being cleansed by Ebrietas' blood._

 _And he was the one to deliver the fatal blow._

 _The Old One quivered… and lay still._

 _This boy… he had_ slain _an Old One. He had killed something not unlike a god. He had undone a creature not of this plane of existence— a cosmic entity entwined with the fabric of reality!_

 _Nothing was greater than an Old One. This was truth._

 _And if this was truth… what was the Dream? Did another Old One have ties to this boy?_

 _Panting, wounded, and exhausted, he remained standing. He took no pride in the kill. He cried for the Old One just as much as he had for any other Hunter undone by his blade. He needed this moment to wallow in his depression, to accept his actions, and reobtain his fortitude._

 _He stepped away from the Old One's corpse and headed towards the back of the caverns. He pulled out her pink mush from his pocket and placed it upon a stone altar._

 _"Please," he whispered as he clutched at the edges and bowed his head in prayer. "Please, please, please. Let this work. I don't know what else to do. I can't bring the others back. Not after what I've done. But, please, just this one thing. Let me save… just one person."_

 _Just one person. Those words had him breaking into tears. She understood; his path was paved with misfortune and blood. The path of a Hunter was not one of salvation but damnation. A Hunter hunts… and never protects._

 _She would have scoffed at him. Had he learned nothing? Those tears of his never brought his friends out of their insanity. His words did less. And too often did he have to put them down just like the beasts of the night._

 _She didn't laugh. Not at him. Not after witnessing his incorruptible innocence and pure heart._

 _And perhaps it was because of these qualities did a miracle happen. Or it was because he was doused in the blood of an Old One or had absorbed some of Ebrietas' arcane energy in their fight. Or… because of something else she will never understand._

 _Time was undone. The will of the Cosmos reached down and touched Annalise._

 _And she sat once more in her throne, whole and healthy. It was as though that Executioner Alfred had never visited the antechamber. Alas, the boy was not with her._

 _And she found his lack of presence… displeasing._

 _She would not have to wait long. Before she knew it, a familiar presence had found its way to Cainhurst. She observed it until the figure made its way to her throne and climbed the steps to stand before her._

 _It was her Hunter._

Her _Hunter… She suppressed a smile at the thought._

 _"Y-You…" he croaked as he approached. "You're okay. T-Thank… goodness…"_

 _He was ready to cry as a tremendous guilt was washed off his shoulders._

 _"Arrant fool," she spoke just as she had before. "Forget not; we are Queen. Bend the knee."_

 _Instantly, he knelt in his previous fashion— legs tucked under his thighs and awaiting instruction._

 _She could not hold the smile this time. It was fortunate her face was hidden by the iron mask._

 _"I'm sorry," he said when sufficient time passed. "It's because of me… I didn't know Alfred would do that. I remembered he mentioned something about Vilebloods. So I asked him and… I'm sorry!"_

 _He bowed his head until his brow kissed the floor._

 _She said nothing as she watched him._

 _"I know this can never make up for it but…" he rose— against proper etiquette but she decided she would excuse him for this much— and rummaged through his belongings. "I want you to have it! I found it deep in the Dungeons. It's a ring; I think it's for a woman because it can't fit on my fingers. It's very pretty. I-I think it would look great on you. I don't know how much value this really has, but this is all I can offer for—"_

 _"Still thy honeyed tongue," she said as he slowly crawled on his knees to her feet. "The thought alone sufficeth. Thy worth is too great. Now, speak no more in the matter."_

 _"A-All the more reason!" he blurted back. How crass; to speak in such a way before royalty. "If it's really that important then you should have it! Y-You're a queen! I can't think of anyone who deserves it more! Please… for me…?"_

 _Silence was her response. The boy's form slouched as he retracted his arm. Guilt and sadness washed over him over this rejection._

 _She found… she could not tolerate this behavior any longer._

 _"…Honestly!"_

 _She leaned forward and extended her hand._

 _And dare she say he glowed like the rising sun when he approached and placed the ring on her finger. When she pulled her hand away, her thumb caressed the ring. He moved back to his prior position._

 _"Thy gift pleases us," she said with a lifted spirit of her own. "We await thy return… This chamber was made not for one alone. For the honor of Cainhurst."_

 _She dismissed him. She knew of his duties as a Hunter. The hunt resumes as the night continues. Her affair was but a distraction._

 _"Y-Yes!" he rose to his feet and bowed again. "I promise to visit again once the night is over. I'd like to know more about you, Annalise— Q-Queen Annalise! Maybe… I can ask you instead of through someone else?"_

 _She would have liked that. Her dear betrothed. She would not turn him into a Vileblood. She would not corrupt him, though she knew she couldn't even if she tried. She had witnessed his soul triumph over an Old One._

 _He would make a fine King._

 _And so she waited for his return._

 _But he never would._

0-0-0

Annalise stroked the diamond ring lovingly as she rode in the carriage. The sound of the city could be heard through the shutters as the wheels rattled over the cobblestones and hooves of the horses clattered as they walked. She could feel the staring of the mortals and divine beyond the wooden walls. They meant nothing to her.

"He hath grown," she said to her chamberlain sitting across. "Matured and bloomed. And yet… doth he remain unchanged. His innocence, his purity, it layeth unbroken."

The chamberlain said nothing in reply. He sat erect with his Chikage between his legs and hands over the pummel. He could see the outside no more than she could, yet his head turned at the windows to observe those outside through heightened senses.

"We wonder what manner'th king he shall become."

Like a maiden in love, her thoughts were consumed by her precious Hunter. Her petty squabbles with Ares and the scheming of her court were forgotten. There were only plots to have him.

Specifically, at her side.

"See'th all is taken care of," she commanded. "Watch him. Maketh thy presense unknown. Return to us when thou'st learneth enough."

The chamberlain did not respond just as he always had. He remained in his seat as the carriage carried them through the streets.

Suddenly, the door opened and he slipped out like a shadow of the night. The door shut behind him. His departure did not make a single noise and did not stir or shift the balance of the carriage. The driver continued on— as he would even if noticing this disturbance.

Annalise stroked the ring one last time before cupping her hands together. The city gates were approaching. She put all thoughts on the Good Hunter to rest. Her chamberlain will provide her with what she craved at the appropriate time.

For now, she needed to return to her subjects. They would demand a court assembly after fighting with Rakian soldiers. They would want to present her with fresh blood and further their status as Vilebloods. They would smile at her behind their porcelain faces to further their selfish desires.

At some point, her thumb went to rub the diamond in her subconscious.

She wondered how they will react once they learned of their king.

0-0-0

"She was in your pocket for _how long_?" Hestia summed up the entire story with one question.

Bell couldn't come up with a response to that. They both sat on the couch while he had told his entire story with Queen Annalise and his adventure (read: nightmare) through Castle Cainhurst. In order to do that, he had to tell her a few other stories to answer some other questions that were brought up.

She never once challenged his credibility. She never questioned his sanity. The only questions she raised were whenever she didn't understand something and wanted it cleared.

He watched her reactions all the while. She gasped, she jerked, she nodded, and she patted his head when appropriate. But, he noticed above all, she had no reaction at all at the mention of Ebrietas. It was as though she forced herself to not give him anything to read off of.

While the sun had set a few short hours by the time they came home to the abandoned church, he had finished his stories by the darkest hour. He felt exhausted. And not just because of his training with Aiz Wallenstein or the meeting with Annalise. Having to share these events with his goddess tired him in a way it was as though he were going through the hunt all over again.

And _that_ was the response she had in the conclusion.

"You're not going to ask how?" was all he could come up with to retort.

"What way?" she pressed. "As in how she was alive that entire time? How time was reversed at the altar of that petrified giant spider thingy? Or how you knew which part of her was still 'her' when all her grossness was all over the place? Really, Bell, there were how many chunks in that throne room and you just happened to pick up the right piece?"

He scratched the back of his head in silence.

"I… I don't know," he admitted. "To all those things. I remember… Gehrman telling me to 'ascend Oedon Chapel' at the earliest stages of the hunt; and this was long before I found my way into Cainhurst. But I don't know how it worked… or even if it would at all. And I don't know how I knew she was alive. I… just did. Something was telling me."

"Regardless," Hestia sighed as she placed her fists on her hips, "you felt obligated to give her that ring as an apology. That's where you made the mistake, Bell. You cornered that woman into a position she couldn't refuse."

"I didn't know it was something for marriage!" he blurted out with a reddened face. "I found that ring in the Pthumerian Tombs and thought it was the most expensive thing I've seen. I thought it was fit for a queen. That's it. Honest…"

Hestia gave him a worried look. She was pitying him with those eyes! He meant it! Marriage rites back in his farming village were a lot more blunt. If someone wanted to marry someone, they would ask the other person or their families. _No one_ in his village was rich enough to acquire a diamond ring! Even a band of silver was outlandish! The concept of offering jewelry like that was inconceivable!

"Don't worry, Bell," Hestia huffed. "Your goddess will handle this. This is all nothing but a misunderstanding. Besides, you belong to me. Even if you wanted to get married I wouldn't allow it."

"…Thank you?" he said the words but wasn't sure what tone to use.

"Just so we're clear," Hestia gave him a level glare. "You feel nothing for that woman?"

"W-What?" his blush returned. "No, goddess! I mean… Queen Annalise _is_ pretty. I never got to see her face without the helmet. And she seems really nice. She has this mature and sophisticated aura around her. B-But it's not like I want to marry her or anything!"

He felt like he did something wrong. The look his goddess was giving him screamed bloody murder. He should apologize… even if he didn't know what he did wrong or why she was so angry at him. He told her what she wanted, didn't he?

"Just stay away from anything relating to Cainhurst for the time being," she huffed again, turning so she wouldn't look at him. "Honestly. I'm pretty. I can be mature when I want to be. And I'm _nice_."

He had no idea what she was rambling on about. By the sounds of it, it was as if she wanted to be married to _him_. There was just no way. Gods and mortals loving another was just impossible. Gods were above mortals for a reason. And while there are stories of mortals having _something_ with gods, they were never on equal terms with them just as partners in holy matrimony should.

"Goddess, I don't plan on leaving Orario," he said to her.

She stopped her ravings enough to glance at him through the corner of her eye.

"I live here," he continued, taking the chance to look at his surroundings. "I made this city my home when I decided to become an adventurer. Everything I want to be is found here. I still want to become the hero like in Grandpa's stories. And… I would never have this chance without you. I promised to never leave you no matter what, Hestia."

Her eyes widened as she turned her head to look at him. He could only offer her his sincere smile, solidifying the weight of his words. He had spoken from the heart.

"Bell!" she gasped and threw herself upon him, wrapping her arms around him and nearly tackling him down. "That's not fair! I can't be mad at you if you say things like that! Just… promise me again. Promise me you'll never leave me. Not for Cainhurst. Not for anything."

He wrapped one arm around her waist while patting her head. "Yes, goddess. I promise. You're my family now. I will never leave you."

He held her like this. His precious goddess. He meant it in every sense when he said she was his family. When he came to Orario and no one wanted him, she was the only one to accept him. She was the one who gave him a home. They struggled together in their poverty. There were good moments, some bad ones, and all else in-between.

She meant the world to him. He promised to never leave her… as well as to never lose her.

"There's still more, isn't there?" she asked once their moment passed.

"…Yes," he breathed out and pulled himself away. "The night was long. There are a lot of things I committed to. I will tell you everything, goddess. It will take some time. But just know, I'm still the same person who joined your _familia_. I'm still Bell Cranel."

She nodded in grim acceptance. It was too late in the night to delve any further. Sleep deprivation would falter her memory. She wanted to be fully attentive during their next discussion.

"We should go to bed before it gets any later," she said while glancing around.

What remained of their dinner was still sprawled over the small table. They nodded to each other and went to work cleaning up their abode. They gathered the garbage, brushed their teeth and washed their faces, and dressed in separate rooms for the night.

"Bell, come here," Hestia called out to him when he was about to pull his blanket from the corner of the room. She patted the bed she sat upon. "I want you to sleep here instead."

He looked around the room. There was no one else present. He turned back to his goddess and pointed at himself, trying to confirm he was the one she was addressing. She nodded a few times and patted the bed again.

"I can't do that!" he waved his hands around frantically. "That bed is for you! I'd feel awful if I knew you were sleeping on the couch."

"That's fine," she waved it off casually. "I'll be sleeping at your side."

All thoughts within him came to a screeching halt.

His face burned as a single image came to his mind. When a man and a woman were under the sheets together. It was the sort of thing only couples should be doing behind closed doors. And to be doing _that_ with his goddess…

"W-W-W-W-W-We can't do something like that!" his face was burning as his back instinctively pressed itself to the wall. "C-C-Couch! The couch! I've always slept on the couch! You slept on the bed! That's how it's always been since time immemorial!"

"Bell… we've been a _familia_ for three months," she said in a slow voice. But then, the fire returned to her voice, "I figured something. These traumatic experiences have been giving you nightmares ever since the Minotaur attack. At first I thought it was just that but it's really you remembering that other place, isn't it? And I'm always having to crawl under your blanket to calm you down.

"So instead of waking up halfway through the night, I'd figure I'd skip that process and just have you with me at all times! Yes! I have no ulterior motives about this! I'm going to be snuggling with you purely for your mental health!"

He hadn't forgotten those times she had snuck onto the couch with him. She was completely right. On those times he was remembering the Dream and Nightmare, he was tossing and turning in the real world. Hestia had seen this since they shared the room and had tried to comfort him back to deep slumber. How many times had he awaken with her on top of him?

…Too many for his heart to handle.

"But… we're goddess and adventurer," he tried to argue.

"Then as your goddess I'm making this a demand," she didn't so much as pat the bed as she slapped her hand on the sheets a few times. "It's either here or the couch. Either way I'm going to be sleeping with you to make sure you don't toss around. I'd prefer it to be on here."

He couldn't argue against his goddess when she was being this serious. He had no choice. With a shaking and burning body, he made his way to the other bedside. Together, they pulled back the sheets and entered, though Bell was a lot more hesitant while Hestia waited patiently for him to enter. And even then, he laid himself at the furthest edge.

It didn't stop her from scooting herself all the way to his side and pressing herself against him. She latched herself to him, rested her cheek on his shoulder, and nuzzled herself just right until she was comfortable. Meanwhile, Bell remained as stiff as a board.

"Good night, Bell," she whispered.

"G-Good night, goddess," he croaked back.

After a few quick breaths, Hestia fell asleep. However, no matter what Bell tried, she refused to let go of him. Even when he tried to sneak back to the couch would her grip tighten in her unconsciousness. His enhanced strength meant nothing to the little goddess.

She was right about one thing, he will have to admit. With her at his side, he wouldn't have any nightmares about the hunt.

…Because the feeling of her breasts constantly rubbing against him kept him up throughout the entirety of the night.

0-0-0

"They're at it again," Finn muttered as he sipped his morning coffee.

The sky was starting to gray before dawn. Most of his _familia_ were asleep, including those who were supposed to be on duty— he alleviated those who were starting to wane from the constant observations. The only one who was keeping him company was Gareth.

Even Tione, who had tried to stay at his side, couldn't stand the constant boredom. Her stamina would allow her to remain awake for several days but the idleness was what wore her out. The girl was a warrior who needed action. She wasn't built for this sort of burden.

He hadn't moved from his post other than to use the privy. Food and necessities were given to him by messengers (or Tione to win his favor). He made sure to keep an eye on the activities of Rakia and Cainhurst. Though they had just arrived yesterday in the late afternoon, his notes were filled to the brim with their activities.

While most found this mission issued by the Guild the most boorish, he always found something of importance that needed his full attention. Both Rakia and Cainhurst were up to their own devices. As the one in charge of the operation by default (as in no one else wanted the job and _Freya Familia_ couldn't represent), he had to make sure they weren't trying to blindside the city with these activities. So far nothing warranted him to sound the alarm. But that didn't mean they weren't up to something.

Such as right now, in the wee moments of breaking dawn. Rakia and Cainhurst were having _another_ skirmish. This would be the fifth round since arriving at Orario's border.

"Somethin' seems diff'rent," Gareth, who had hardly glanced at the battlefield while he started to doze off, cracked open an eye and gave his first impression.

"Some of the Cainhurst Knights seemed to have updated their statuses," Finn observed.

"Aye," Gareth yawned, grumbled, and then approached Finn's side to get a better look at the field. He stroked his beard. "But it ain't right. Iz like they achieved a new Level… but not."

They further watched as more Cainhurst Knights charged Rakian soldiers on horseback. The two armies clashed— Finn pondered briefly how many complaints there would be from the noise by the city— and Cainhurst was the first to recover. What he noticed the most were some of the nobility he had marked before with all their assumed abilities had grown exponentially.

He knew what Gareth meant. The Cainhurst Knights were stronger. It shouldn't make sense. No one could obtain that much excelia within such a short amount of time. The amount of increase they were displaying belonged to adventurers who had months of experience in conflict. Not a single day.

The Rakian soldiers didn't seem all that surprised. They seemed better focused and more organized. It was as though they had anticipated this increase in might from their rivals and were prepared for it. Though, that didn't necessarily dwindle their losses.

Finn knew the answer. All the Knights he had marked he made sure to remember how many bodies their squires and slaves recovered. It wasn't missed by anyone how Cainhurst had stolen the fallen bodies of Rakian soldiers in the midst of battle. No one knew what it meant; only Finn.

Vilebloods didn't grow through excelia and falna like adventurers. They grew through blood.

"We can at least say Cainhurst brought their god with them," Finn commented, knowing the words to be false. "But this growth is unreasonable. One or two I might be able to excuse with a skill. But an entire army? Unless… their god possesses a natural talent in these regards?"

Gareth snorted, "Like wha'? Ishtar an' them gals' allure? Or Apollo an' his boys' fire magic? Those're abilities anyone can pick up with a bit o' work, Finn. We're talkin' 'bout half'a Level 'ere."

"I heard a rumor once," Finn muttered. He didn't try to smile for Gareth; they had been working long enough for the man to know they were mostly fake. "There's an adventurer who can temporarily boost another to the next Level with a unique spell. I've never seen it in person, but it can't be as outlandish as this."

Gareth grunted as he went back to the battle. He dismissed Finn's words entirely until he could find an answer for himself.

As Finn watched, he took gradual sips of his coffee. It was bitter and in desperate need of sugar, to which no one had brought with the rations. It was one of the curses of being who he was, he mused. Being a Level Six had stunted his aging process to a crawl while being born as a prum granted him an already youthful body. He was in his early forties and yet his body was equivalent to a child prior to puberty.

It meant his taste buds were equal to a human's at their peak. Coffee was extraordinarily bitter and all forms of alcohol tasted like cough syrup. It was his mental fortitude that gave him the tolerance to handle both of them.

Oedon Beyond knew he needed alcohol to tolerate the memories of the Nightmare, to tolerate Tione's constant attempts to sack his childish figure, and to tolerate the stress of an elite adventurer in charge of the safety of an entire city of tens-thousands.

…It's five o' clock somewhere. How he wished he could trade this coffee with some good ale. Was the Benevolent Mistress open yet? Maybe he should have made Riveria stay while he ran off?

No, he mentally groaned. Her job was just as important. Plus he had an image to uphold. What will people think if they saw someone like him drinking before the break of dawn?

"Finn," Gareth spoke up.

He had his attention. Finn sipped on his coffee again.

"Whaz been goin' on between you and Alf?" he went on. "Since she came back injured, you've been keepin' mum. Don' think fur a moment Loki hasn't noticed."

Had he been waiting this long to ask this? It was an appropriate time— that being the most inappropriate time comprehensible. Finn was tired and distracted. Gareth knew he would put most of his mentality on focusing on the actions of the two armies. He couldn't afford to think about complicated things and would have to give direct answers.

…It was a shame the Finn he knew then and the Finn he was now were too different.

"It's like I said," he said in a grim tone and expression. "One of the Hunters intercepted us while we were down there. We weren't prepared. It was my mistake we allowed ourselves to be separated. What's worse is we got those newbies involved. I'm not sure what else you want from me."

"Does this have anythin' to do with Tiona reportin' to ya directly?" he asked next.

"Is Bete here?" Finn played ignorance and looked around briefly. "No? Good. Do you remember the whole Tomato Boy thing? The newbie we ran into was that boy. He was preparing for the duel against Bete, even going as far as the Deep Down for materials to better his chances. Aiz was so distraught to get him involved against the Hunter she wanted to make it up to him. So she offered to train the boy personally."

Gareth listened fully, "And Tiona?"

"I'm sure she has her reasons," Finn shrugged. "She might be interested in him for all I know. But she came to me and told me all about him. She thinks he might be related to Good Hunter Cranel, the man I told you about before. I think she was trying to find something else about him. I can tell you everything she told me, if you want."

Finn put up a smile this time. Gareth shirked away. It was a smile of someone who wanted to share the pains of another. An impression had been made; Gareth was assuming Tiona had harassed Finn about teenage melodrama.

"We're making sure at least someone is with Aiz at all times," Finn went back to watching the battle. "The Hunters seem to have something against her. Twice in the Dungeons and during Monsterphilia. It'd be better to go after you, me, or Riveria. But Lady Maria always goes after her instead."

"Think they'll try somethin' with this distractin' us?" Gareth asked, gesturing to the skirmish between Cainhurst and Rakia.

"It'd be the perfect time to do so," he admitted. "If they don't go after Aiz, they might try something in the city. It's hard to say. I don't know what their goal is. But I have a feeling they won't be doing anything anytime soon."

"What makes ya say that?"

"A feeling," Finn answered by sticking out his thumb. The appendage wasn't twitching, a telltale sign that showed whenever danger was approaching.

Gareth accepted the answer. He had gone through more than enough experiences based on Finn's thumb alone to know how credible of an answer it was.

Finn finished the last of his coffee as he and Gareth silently watched the skirmish continue. There was nothing exciting to note and even less of anything new. It was all the same they had seen the day before. A few Cainhurst Knights fell but they took scores of Rakian soldiers with them. And whenever a Rakian soldier fell, three other soldiers were there to try and save the body.

That right there brought a newfound battle to the field. They either succeeded… or were thrashed by a Cainhurst Knight when noticed.

It was no surprise Cainhurst had won by the time the sun had risen over the horizon. Technically speaking, the official battle had been called off an hour ago but had resumed when the dead had to be collected. Cainhurst demanded them, Rakia refused, more fighting happened, more dead were created, and the cycle continued.

"Gareth, do you think you can cover for me?" Finn asked suddenly. "Something came to mind right now. It's not all that important but I'd rather get it over with before I forget."

Gareth gave him a look. Finn put up a smile, one of those that tried to assure their friend there was no ulterior motive. Gareth read right through it (as was Finn's intention) and made his brows furrow with annoyance.

"Fine," Gareth grumbled. "So long as you take the lass with ya."

Gareth stuck his thumb out over their shoulders.

Finn blinked, turned… and then blanched.

"Good morning, captain~" sang Tione as she carried a platter in her hands. "I've brought you breakfast. What's that? Bags on your eyes? Captain… were you up all night?!"

This was not what Finn expected. He expected Gareth to go through a completely different approach. Was Finn already this predictable? He really needed to step his game up if he could keep fooling his friends again.

Tione wouldn't tattle on Finn; she was too deeply in love with him to betray him for Gareth. That wasn't Gareth's intention. The dwarf knew this already. He just wanted to make Finn suffer for something he couldn't control or outsmart.

" _Et tu, Gary_?" Finn laughed lightly.

Gareth's brow rose at the name. But he knew he had won as soon as Finn resorted to name-calling.

"Good morning, Tione," Finn turned and put up his best smile. "Glad to see you're up so early. I was actually about to head into town on an errand. Would you like to join me?"

"Certainly!" Tione leapt at the chance. "But what about breakfast? Shouldn't you eat before you go?"

"Don't worry," he waved it off. "Just leave it for Gareth. We'll pick up something while down there. Just the two of us."

"J-Just the two of us?" she sputtered. "Me? And the captain? Us? Alone? Together? The two of us? Breakfast?! Is this a date? This has to qualify as a date. This must be a date! This is a date! I'm going on a date with the captain!"

"…You're in charge while I'm out," Finn's smile faltered slightly at Tione's behavior as he turned back to Gareth. "I shouldn't be long. Think of it as me needing to stretch my legs."

Gareth snorted in response.

"Let's go, Tione," Finn said as he walked past the girl.

"D-Date?" her head swiveled around as she snapped out of her daydream. "Captain! Wait for me! Coming!"

She turned to follow, realized the platter of food was still in her grip, turned back around, and shoved the load into Gareth's arms. Afterwards she hurried over to Finn's retreating form. His steps were fast in an attempt to leave the camp as quickly as possible. She caught up and he suddenly slowed down to a normal pace.

She was too delusional to figure out he had been trying to escape her and had failed.

0-0-0

Prince Marius entered the tent while a squire held open the flap for him. His cape was missing and his armor splattered with blood. He had returned from the battlefield after claiming twenty vampires and nearly a hundred of their unarmed servants. His expression was a solid grimace as he had to betray some of his knightly vows because of Cainhurst; all so those vampires couldn't claim more bodies of his soldiers.

"Lord Ares," Marius did not greet his god. He merely announced his presence. "What is this? Why have you summoned me so suddenly?"

Ares was a tall god with a divine physique, gorgeous face, blazing red eyes, and a lion's mane of golden hair. His armor was spotless as he had spent his time commanding rather than leading like Marius. He turned to regard Marius with a sneer.

"Be careful with that tone, Marius. I'll excuse your insubordination for the time being. Now, while you were busy lopping heads and losing my men, I took the initiative and concocted a brilliant scheme of my own."

Marius' brows furrowed. Within the tent were only a few handlers; the squire at the front, three soldiers armed with spears aimed and ready… and a Cainhurst Knight tied to a post.

"Well?" Ares cracked a smile, expecting praise from the prince. "What do you think? I launched that attack on those parasites as a distraction. Meanwhile, I waited for one of their hungrier of dogs to overextend and snatched him up! It was perfect for here! They have no castle walls to hide behind! Brilliant, isn't it?!"

Marius controlled his breathing as anger washed over him. His god had just condemned the lives of another few thousand men… all so he could capture _one_ of Cainhurst.

The vampire cackled, "I must admit, Ares of Rakia. It _was_ a brilliant idea. So brilliant I dare say you outshine all other fools before you!"

Ares' smile turned into a snarl as he approached and backhanded the vampire. His gauntleted hand was more liken to a fist than a slap. But the Cainhurst noble was sturdier than any mortal. His head whipped on impact but there was no mark. He looked up at Ares and snorted.

"What is it you want with this man?" Marius spoke before Ares' temper could rise. Unlike Marius, Ares had no control once he lost his patience. "Please don't tell me you wish to use him as a ransom."

The vampire leaned his head back on the post and let out an uproar of laughter, "You Rakian fools know nothing about us, do you? Ransom? I have been captured by the enemy. I can't return a single drop of blood for my Queen. I am an embarrassment to my kingdom. The Queen won't spend a single penny for me. I'd be expecting an assassin or ten from my rivals to hide this humiliation."

Ares snorted this time, "I have no interest in whatever that witch has to offer. No, _vampire_ , what you will tell me before the day is done is the name of your god. Who is it that controls Cainhurst?"

"…Look," the vampire gave Ares a blunt look. "I know I called you a fool earlier. That was just to get under your skin. It's a counter-torture technique. I didn't think you were actually a fool."

Once again, the man was struck. He wasn't smiling in mockery. His expression was dull with boredom. The act infuriated Ares even further.

"Cainhurst has no god," Marius spoke up. "This you have argued with us countless times."

"Then why are you asking?"

"Why is it you have no need of a god?" Marius pressed. "Do Cainhurst soldiers not need to partake in the falna ritual? And if not, how are you able to match us adventurers?"

"Marius," Ares growled. "Have you gone mad? Don't tell me you are starting to believe in their lies."

"The Queen is the only one we follow," the vampire answered. "We are her Vilebloods. Drinking in her corrupted blood gives us strength. By offering blood to her does she grant us more blood to drink from her. Our entire way of living revolves around this. We have no need of gods."

He spat to the side in disgust.

"Is that why you take our fallen?" Marius demanded.

"Yes," the vampire smiled back. "To offer to our Queen. The more blood we grant her, the more she returns to us. To be bathed in blood is the highest commitment we can make for our Queen. That is why I know none of my brethren will be coming to save me. I have failed the Queen as soon as I became incapable of keeping that sacred vow."

"Then I suppose that would make you a… Paleblood?" Marius mused.

Ares turned to glance at Marius.

The vampire did not look at Marius in contempt. His brows were furrowed but his eyes were full of confusion and curiosity.

"…Where did you learn that word, boy?" his voice was low and dangerous.

The reaction caused Marius' brow to rise. "I had assumed since you call yourselves Vilebloods, and based on the way your social status is determined by how much of my men's blood coats your arms, the term Paleblood referred to one of your kind unblemished. Am I wrong?"

"Where did you learn that word?" the vampire urged more strongly. The mythiril bindings began to grind by his efforts. They will hold. But the post wouldn't. His actions were making the soldiers nervous.

"I will answer if you tell me what it means," Marius said plainly.

The vampire stared at him, contemplating whether to share this information or not. He had been open about the procedure of Vileblood rites but was hesitant about something like this. Marius was curious as to why.

"Paleblood," the vampire spoke tensely. "It is the blood of the gods— the _true_ gods. The Old Ones. Our Queen is blessed with it through heritage; just a drop. Not enough to have her blood in its pale color but enough to grant her true immortality. And as we digest it, we obtain a fragment of this blessing, giving us strength. _That_ is Paleblood— the ichor of the celestial entities!"

Ares tensed. His hand gripped the sword at his side.

Marius' brows furrowed. The vampire was finished and was expecting Marius to make do with his promise. There was nothing that truly bound Marius other than his word. He could have ignored the man. But he was curious about something else.

"Last night, when I went to speak before your Queen," he began as he recalled the events. "The boy in her company aside of the High Chamberlain. She called him Paleblood."

"…What."

It was a simple word. And yet, it held such gravity that made the entire room suffocating.

"Who was this child?!" the vampire raved and tugged on his bindings. The post began to creak and bend by his inhuman strength. "Who bears the Paleblood for the Queen to acknowledge?! What is this child?! Tell me, prince! This stranger has no right! That right is ours! We are the ones who will find Paleblood! We are the ones who will deliver it to our Queen! Tell me so I may deliver his head and become King—"

He had been so focused on Marius he didn't see Ares. And Marius had been so startled by the vampire's maddened state he had failed to notice before it was too late.

Ares drew his sword and brought it down with all his might. The sword shattered but had delivered enough damage to tear a chunk out of the vampire's neck. His head fell lopsided, dangling by what remained of the spine and meat. The vampire jerked and twitched, gagged and choked. Blood drenched his ornaments.

Nobody moved as all eyes were locked on their god.

"Lord Ares!" Marius gasped.

Ares tossed aside his broken sword. He remained staring at the cooling corpse of the vampire. His eyes were hardened and burning with a hidden rage.

"Those bastards. Interfering again? What the hell is Uranus doing?"

"…My Lord?" Marius tried again.

"Marius," Ares spun sharply. "You are not to share what you learned here with anybody. Absolutely nothing leaves this room. Do you understand?"

He didn't. But he couldn't go against his god when he was being like this. He nodded.

"Nothing leaves this room," Ares said once more. "Kill these men."

The soldiers tensed and exchanged looks. They all looked back at Marius, awaiting his decision.

"What?" Marius was shocked. "Lord Ares, what are you—"

"Nothing leaves this room," he said one last time. It was a tone that could not be argued with. Knowing well his orders would be carried out, he dismissed himself from the tent.

"M-My Prince…" one of the men spoke in a tone of reasoning.

He felt sick. These were good men. Men who followed orders without question. Men who left their homes and families to follow the unreasonable whims of their warmongering god. They were loyal without doubt.

He did not offer them an apology as he carried out his orders. He couldn't give them an honorable death as every knight craved. The best he could do was give them a quick death.

0-0-0

The morning came, as it always does. Bell had been counting the seconds until his stomach grumbled. That was his alarm, letting him know it was time to get out of bed and start the day. And as though his stomach shared this knowledge telepathically, his goddess mumbled in her sleep and turned over. _At last_ she had let go of him.

How he desperately wanted to crawl over to the couch and go to sleep. But the day was starting and he had an obligation. Today was another day of training with Aiz Wallenstein. He had to meet up with her at the top of the city walls.

Fighting the lightheadedness and black in the corner of his vision, he climbed out of bed and made his way to the bathroom to prepare.

…His actual wake-up call was nearly drowning when he dumped his head in the bucket of water and dozed off.

Minutes later was he dressed in a plain shirt and pants. His eyes darted back and forth at the small, somewhat growing range of attire tucked neatly in the closet. There was the plain jacket he had started out with as an adventurer, the Crozzo coat Welf had tailored but was shredded by Lady Maria, and the overcoat of a Cainhurst noble. The first offered absolutely no protection, the second provided the most but was riddled with holes, and the third…

The third was the most expensive thing he owned aside from the Blade of Mercy. He'd probably never wear it again for fear of getting a single stain on it. It didn't matter if it had great protection required for a night on the hunt.

He chose the simple brown jacket. He hadn't worn it since finding the Hunter coat. Nostalgia swept through him when he put it on.

"Goddess," he called out softly as soon as he strapped on his pack and tools. He had to hide the Blade of Mercy inside his backpack since the coat wasn't long enough. "I'm going now."

"Haf'a g'd'ay," she mumbled back.

He smiled while watching her fall back asleep. Quietly, he exited the room and shut the door behind him.

He paused when he reached the outside of the church. The sound of his next footstep was off. When he looked, there, placed right under his boot, were a couple of envelopes. He bent over to pick them up and examined them.

The first was white with golden leafs along the edges. The seal contained a bow and arrow with a burning tip. He recognized the symbol but couldn't recall from where.

The second he recognized without a hitch. A brownish envelope with a red waxed seal of two beasts back to back.

The second had belonged to Cainhurst.

Instantly, he retreated back to the church.

"Goddess," he called out as soon as he made his way back to the underground room. He reached the door and entered, "There's some mail I found at the entrance—"

His voice died as his eyes found his goddess.

She was standing near the bed, her hair still loose but freshly combed. She was in the midst of starting her day when he entered. And there, in her hands, had she been flapping the wrinkles out of her dress.

…Right before she was about to put it on.

She stood with only her panties on.

His eyes betrayed him as they made their way from her eyes, to her lips, to the nape of her neck, to her collar, and eventually to her round—

"Oh, Bell," she said with mild surprise. "You're back."

All the blood in his body rushed to his head when those eyes of his found what they had been searching for. It was such a wonderful sight. It was something he had always wanted to see ever since he first met her. It was something that teased him with the way she wore that dress. And here it was.

The fulfillment was too much for his young mind.

He screamed as though he were a maiden who had just been peeped on.

"I'M SORRY!" he shouted and slammed the door.

A moment later, he was back in the room. Bell was sitting on the floor awaiting his goddess' judgment while she sat on the couch reading the letters he delivered. It didn't matter if she had forgiven him and even granted him mercy by letting him sit on the couch.

"Huh, I guess it's that time already," Hestia commented as she finished reading the first letter. "Has it already been a month?"

"W-What is it?" he asked, too nervous and ashamed to look at her in the eye. Not only was he terrified of what she would think of him… the image had been burned into his retinas. If he looked at her, all he would see would be her without her dress.

"Another Gathering of the Gods," she answered plainly, ignoring his moment of self-inflicted distress. "Hosted by Apollo this time. Hmm? This is an interesting spin of things. Bell, listen to this. This time, all the gods are allowed to bring with them one of their favorite children. That means you'll be able to go with me!"

He felt like he should be saying something. Something important was screaming at the back of his mind. But he couldn't focus on it. The image of Hestia was still on his mind. Right now he was struggling to keep his little friend downstairs calm.

Meanwhile, Hestia opened the other envelope and read quietly.

"W-W-What does it say?" his voice squeaked as he studied the ground.

Hestia didn't answer right away. He could only assume she was busy reading.

"Just that queen telling everyone she's here," she said after a long moment. She sounded irritated. Also, unlike the other letter that had been casually placed on the couch cushion, this one had been folded neatly and placed between her breasts.

Bell had noticed the odd habit but instantly went into a frenzy at the sight of what she'd done.

"Bell," she called out.

"Y-Y-Yes goddess?" he said, knowing this was the moment of truth.

"I don't mind that you saw," she said while crossing her arms and legs. "We live together. These sorts of things were bound to happen. Really… I don't mind since it's you. In fact, I'd like you to be a little more direct about it."

"You're right," he bowed his head further. "I should have knocked."

"That's not…" she started but stopped herself. "Yes, you should have knocked. But that's not the point! What I'm trying to say is…"

She tried to find an answer. Nothing was coming to her mind. She ended up searching the room with her eyes as though it was written somewhere. Her eyes ended up locking on the small stash of her collection; small trinkets and her favorite romance novels. Things she had brought with her since Hephaestus had kicked her out.

Something sparked when she remembered a passage from her favorite story, _How to Talk to Fair Maidens._

"Take responsibility!" she blurted out. A new bolt of inspiration struck her immediately afterwards. "Yes! This might be the miracle I've been waiting for!"

"…Eh?" he looked up at her with a dazed and lost expression.

"Bell, in times like these, all you can do is be a man and take responsibility," she stood up and placed her hands on her hips. "You've now seen my bazongas! No one, be it in the mortal world or in Tenkai, has ever seen them. How are you going to take responsibility for this?"

"R-R-Responsibility?" his voice was small as his face started to burn.

She decided to take it further, "You do realize I can no longer get married, right?"

"Ehhhhhh?!"

"Well, Bell? I'm waiting!"

He was frantic. Just like her, he searched around the room for an answer. Unfortunately, he couldn't find anything. He winded up bowing his head and playing with his fingers.

"N-N-Normally…" he began while staring at his fiddling hands. "A man would marry the girl he did that to. T-That's what my grandpa says. B-B-But I can't do that! You're my goddess! How about dinner instead? Please let me make it up to you by buying you dinner!"

A bolt of lightning struck her by the sound of his words alone.

"A date?!" she nearly shouted.

"…Eh?" he blinked.

"A date?!" she repeated, moving off the couch so she could kneel in front of him. Her face was dangerously close to his. "This is a date, right?! With you, Bell?!"

"I… I guess?" he leaned back but she pressed closer. "It's the least I can do. Plus… I've been meaning to do this for a while. Since, you know, the last time I promised you got sick."

It was more like she ran away out of jealousy for his two-timing shenanigans. But she wouldn't admit that to him.

She was beaming as she jumped to her feet and threw herself at her closet. She was already grabbing everything she would need— everything she had planned as she anticipated this day for so long.

"Tonight," she turned to him and spoke sternly. "Meet me at the Town Square by sundown. Don't be late."

Stuffing everything into a bag, she hurried out of the room.

"…Eh?" Bell remained on his knees as his goddess' mood swing left him completely confused.

0-0-0

By the time he exited the church was his goddess out of sight. He had no idea where she ran off to. He just hoped whatever she was planning wouldn't get her into trouble. It was all he could do as he stretched and started his morning jog through the same route he took yesterday.

"Morning Syr," he said as soon as he passed by the Benevolent Mistress. As usual, the ashen-haired girl was sweeping the front entrance.

"Bell Jason Cranel!"

He stopped jogging. He wasn't the only one as adventurers and merchants on their way to their daily destinations stopped and turned their heads. All living creatures in the street recognized that tone. It was the sound of a woman scorned. Some remained to watch the drama unfold while others quickly went on with their business to not get involved should things get thrown around.

Bell jogged backwards until he was right in front of the café. He looked up to see a scowling Syr, ridden of her warm smile and replaced with dead eyes. A fist was planted on her hip while the grip on her broom tightened.

"…Jason?" was all he asked.

"You're in trouble, mister!" she barked.

He jerked where he stood. He had never seen Syr like this. She was absolutely angry at him.

"I-I am?!"

She rested a hand on her cheek and gave him a smile. That smile sent chills down his spine. "I had everything prepared for your arrival. I told them you would come and spend lots. I was even willing to offer you something special at the end. But you _didn't come_."

At first, his mind drew in a blank. But then, like a slap to the face, he knew what she was talking about. With the events of yesterday, he had completely forgotten about his promise to Syr. He had said he would show up at the Benevolent Mistress for dinner and order everything on the menu.

"I-I can explain!" he blurted out while throwing his hands around in fear she was going to throw that broom at him.

He didn't know how tempted she was in whacking him with it. Instead, very calmly, as though there was no harm done, she spoke softly. "Come with me."

She then turned and entered the café. She did not wait for him. She expected him to follow.

And so he did. His grandfather had warned him about a woman scorned. His personal experiences reinforced this claim.

A moment later were they in the kitchens. When she said everyone working at the Benevolent Mistress were ladies, Syr hadn't been kidding. Even the culinary staff were full of young women and girls with each one being as attractive as the maids at the front. When they saw Syr march with Bell in tow, they either averted their eyes or gave him pitying looks.

She led him to a mountain of a disaster.

"W-What is this?" he asked.

"Most of the dishes used last night," she answered with her usually sweet smile she used whenever serving him. "When we were nearing closing time, I told them to stop cleaning since I figured you weren't coming. To make up to me, I'm going to have you clean all of them."

He could only stare in horror at the pile of grime taking up the entire sink and the counter aside it. The stack of plates and bowls and mugs were taller than him!

"I was abducted by the Queen of Cainhurst!" he gave his excuse as though it would save his life.

She giggled playfully, "Oh Bell. You always tell the most amazing of stories."

"B-But, I was!" tears started to rise when she didn't believe him. "Aiz Wallenstein can vouch for me! She saw it happen!"

She giggled some more, "And now you're friends with the _Kenki_ of _Loki Familia_? Wow, Bell! That's impressive! Just as impressive as when you beat that Silverback all by yourself!"

He sniffed. She… She didn't believe _that_ story? But he did kill the Silverback all by himself! What he didn't tell her was—

"And I suppose you'll next tell me you were the one who slew all the monsters that escaped during Monsterphilia," she put salt in the wound. "And saved Miss Wallenstein when that criminal showed up? You're so heroic, Bell!"

Now he was on the verge of crying.

"I'll come back to check on you in an hour," she said while already leaving. "Don't slack off, Bell. The kitchen staff will let me know! We open soon so we're going to need some of those plates!"

He stared at the exit for some time. His eyes eventually drifted over to the pile of gunk and lingering food stains that had settled overnight. He stared at it as though they would magically disappear if he wished hard enough.

Alas, they didn't. He decided he may as well make Syr happy. He rolled up his sleeves and began to sort out the things that needed to be washed first. He noticed most of the pots and pans weren't present— presumably since the kitchen staff would need them when the tavern opened up as a café. All he had to worry about were the things customers used.

Maybe twenty minutes in did someone approach at his side and join into the fray. He looked and blinked with surprise.

"Yours is truly a perilous task," Lyu Lyon said as she grabbed what he had washed and began to dry. "I may offer you some assistance."

He nearly burst into tears at the kindness. "T-Thank you, Lyu."

"Think nothing of it, Mister Cranel," she said plainly. "While I might disagree with the magnitude of Syr's punishment, I do believe the fault is entirely yours and you should learn to take responsibility for your forgetfulness."

He flinched at her words. It was as though she had read straight through him. Yes, he _did_ forget about visiting the Benevolent Mistress. When the queen released him, it was still early enough to go. He had just forgotten about his obligation.

"Do you know why you must do this?" she asked next.

He frowned in thought while he scrubbed away, "Because… Syr is mad at me? I did make that promise just so she wouldn't get mad at me. I even took her morning rations. And I didn't show up like I said I would."

She nodded but carried on, "There is that. But that is not why Syr is upset with you."

He stopped briefly to look at her.

"She was worried," she answered calmly while continuing to dry. "You are not one to break promises without reason. Syr had been anticipating your arrival all day and grew frantic when the night was drawing on. She will not admit it. The punishment here is not for breaking your promise; this is her way of getting back at you for scaring her."

Ah. Now he felt even more guilty. He hadn't even apologized to her.

"But why would she be so upset about that?" he ended up asking. "I'm just another customer to her. Don't tell me she does this with everyone who doesn't listen to her. Is this really how the dishes get cleaned? Lyu… do you do this too?"

Lyu stopped wiping to give him a flat look. The noise in the kitchen stopped as everyone paused in their duties to give him a flat look. He felt their glares like added weight. The moment passed and everyone resumed what they were doing.

"Yours is truly a perilous task," she repeated.

He had no idea what she meant. He considered the conversation finished as he went back to work. He soaked the thicker of grime in the sink while scrubbing away at the others before handing them over to Lyu to dry and stack. A kitchen worker came by every so often to take a pile off of the counter for them to use. Every time they did… they gave Bell the oddest of looks.

"Say, Lyu," he spoke up suddenly.

She gave him a sideways glance.

"Is there any way I can talk to Eileen?"

She considered the request for a moment, "I'm not sure if I will be able to get ahold of her. She is rather elusive. What is it you want from her?"

His head bowed slightly in depression, "T-Then, it's alright. I understand. I don't even know what your relationship is with her and I've already asked so much from you. It's just… I could really use her advice right now."

"Do you not have teammates?" she asked next. "That young man you were with; he seemed capable and willing to listen to you. Are you unable to reach him at the moment?"

"Djura— I mean, Welf is busy being a blacksmith," he answered with a perplexed expression. "But, that is, he and I aren't as close. I met him before and we only joined up this one time because of it. Sure, he's a part of my team now but… It's just… Eileen. If there's anyone I know I can rely on, it'll be her. She saved my life a few times and I did the best I could to help her. I am who I am today because of her. I just… miss her."

Lyu said nothing as she worked meticulously. It reached a point where she had nothing else to dry until he finished his next batch. But she didn't leave his side to pursue a new task in the meantime. She remained in his company as she thought in silence.

"I'm sorry, Mister Cranel," she said eventually. "I cannot promise such an arrangement. However… I am familiar with her way of thinking. If you are willing to share your burdens with me, I can at least try to offer sound advice."

"R-Really, Lyu?" he looked up at her.

She nodded simply.

He went back to his work. He didn't divulge anything right away. He needed the moment to collect his thoughts.

"I… don't think I should be fighting the Hunters," he admitted.

"And what brought this on?" she asked. Her voice had been as flat as usual but there may or may not have been a tinge of curiosity. He wouldn't know.

"I'm not saying what they've done isn't wrong," fire came to his voice, but along with it was doubt. "At least, not since they showed up here. Lady Maria was behind Monsterphilia and I can't forgive her for that. And two others took advantage of my Supporter to get to me. I'm not sure if there are others with them but… they did it to get to me.

"I'm worried they'll hurt my friends. I'm worried they'll get innocents involved. What if they go after my goddess next? What if—"

The plate she had been drying snapped in two by her grip. Her eyes remained unchanged as she gently placed the pieces to the side.

"You're saying you should hand yourself over to the Hunters?" she more stated than asked. "That if you give them what they want they will leave peacefully?"

He didn't have a response to give.

"Your fears are understandable but that is no reason to falter, Mister Cranel," her voice was firm as she looked directly at him. He stopped looking to return the gaze. "Remember who gave you that weapon. There lies a mantle that bears no honor. No one will thank you. You will make many enemies along the way. But it is a duty that cannot be discarded. If you permit these beasts to roam without fear, who then will be there to stop them?"

He was left reeling from her words. They struck a chord with him. He had never felt such a fire from her before. It was as though he were speaking to Eileen directly.

He couldn't help but wonder… had she been speaking through the wisdom of Eileen or from personal experience? Her emotions were too attached to the subject.

"You're right," he said after nodding. "I can't stop now. A Hunter must hunt. They're already too far gone to be reasoned with. Thank you, Lyu. I feel a lot better now."

She nodded once seeing him in better spirits. They went back to their gruesome task. No further words were needed between them.

"Oh wow, Bell," Syr came in shortly after wearing a fake smile. Bell wouldn't notice; Lyu did. She also knew the tavern girl had been eavesdropping on their conversation around the corner. "You got a lot done! I honestly didn't expect you to do this much in such short time."

"I was just… doing what I should," he offered, completely ignorant of her behavior. "Listen, Syr, about last night…"

"Don't worry about it," she waved it off. "I was only teasing you, you know. I didn't actually expect you to clean the dishes! It's no good to be such a pushover. Girls like men with a little backbone in them."

He gave her a tense smile full of conflicting emotions. Lyu gave her friend a deadpan look while he couldn't see. She knew Syr was going to make him clean no matter what. Whether as punishment or as a favor since Anya and Chloe had been sick since last night.

"This is for you," Syr stepped up and handed Bell a neatly wrapped bento. "Thank you for all your hard work. I put a little something extra in there just for you~"

"Y-You didn't have to do that," Bell stammered and blushed. "Really! I was the one at fault! I should have made do with my promise. And I'm sorry for making you worry!"

"Hmm? Worry?" Syr put a hand to her cheek and shot Lyu a look. "What are you talking about, Bell? I wasn't worried; I know you had your reasons for not showing up for dinner. You're more of the sort to dine-and-dash."

He jerked as though stricken.

"You're free to go," she said next. "Unless… you'd like to stay and eat that with me? You don't have anything more important, do you?"

He nearly gave in. He had opened his mouth to protest and accept her offer. Syr was the one who received the most amount of tips for a reason. Except, something had come to his mind. He stiffened and visibly paled.

"Wait. What time is it?!" he blurted out with his head swiveling around the room. One of the Nameless Cooks pointed at the clock in the wall for him to track. The time made him gasp and leap a few celch into the air. "Oh no! I gotta go! But I… I…"

His head swiveled once more from Syr, to the dishes, to the clock, and again several times. He was having some sort of inner war with himself over what obligation to take over.

"Mister Cranel," Lyu sighed once she noticed Syr was taking pleasure in watching him squirm. "If you have somewhere you need to be, then you best be off. I can handle the rest and I'm sure Syr will understand. Isn't that right?"

"Just make sure to swing by again sometime," Syr smiled brightly.

"Yes!" he said and then sharply turned on Lyu. "Thank you, Lyu! For everything! I owe you a lot!"

The entire room gasped as the boy grabbed her hands and cupped them between his. The chefs paled in fear, Syr's smile looked murderous, and Lyu's eyes had widened in shock. All the while, Bell hadn't noticed their reactions while he was lost in his own relief.

"T-There's no need," she stuttered— _stuttered_! Something warm crept up to her face and she suddenly found it difficult to look directly at him. "Please, Mister Cranel, I'm not the sort of person you should be doing this with."

"Eh, but why?" he blinked with those large eyes of his. "I really do mean it. The advice you gave me helped a lot. You really are someone I can rely on!"

Does this boy ever listen to her?! Or was his ignorance and naiveté a curse brought onto her by the Old Ones?! She swore, _everything_ she said pointed him down one direction but he ended up going somewhere else.

He should be holding hands with Syr. Not her!

"Think nothing of it, Mister Cranel," she tried to collect herself. She had gained control of her voice again but the burning in her cheeks wouldn't go down. "You best be off before more time is w-wasted."

…Confound it all.

"Right, right," he nodded and, mercifully, let her hands dropped. He retrieved the boxed lunch Syr gave him, turned, and waved as he retreated. "Bye Lyu! Bye Syr! See you next time!"

Neither of the girls gave him departing words. Lyu was busy trying to rub out the feeling of his grip on her hands while Syr continued to smile away. Someone coughed, triggering everyone else in the staff to return to their work.

"You two seem close," Syr commented with her usual smile.

"It's not what you're thinking," Lyu protested firmly.

"And what exactly am I thinking?" she tested with a tilt of her head.

"I understand your interest in him and have no intention of getting in the way," she stated back. "I would like to encourage the two of you. However… that boy has been challenging as of late."

Syr hummed while she tapped a finger on her chin. The smile dropped. Her eyes were full of hope but skeptical. There was doubt and fear.

"Lyu… you don't have feelings for Bell, do you?"

She didn't need to consider the question.

"Mister Cranel is purely an associate who follows the same line of work as I once did. I want nothing more than to see him succeed where I had failed."

Syr's frown didn't shift, "That doesn't answer my question, Lyu."

The elf gave her friend a long look.

The smile returned, "You're right. I'm just being a little jealous, I guess. You two are always talking and on such friendly terms. He asks for your advice. And you, Lyu, let him touch you. I was a little shocked by that. Do you remember the last person who tried to touch you?"

"…Syr."

"Anyways, Finn and Tione of _Loki Famiia_ are here. They asked me to pass a message from Simon to Eileen. What should I do?"

Lyu frowned at both the inconvenience of meeting with that man again as well as her friend using it as an excuse to avoid their prior discussion. However, it was clear Syr wasn't willing to talk any further. She had no choice but to hear what Finn had to say.

"Tell them I will be with them shortly."


	14. Chapter 14

**AN:** To Oslight,

Once again you delivered a great piece of fanart! To be honest, I was surprised you did it. Let's be honest here; the last chapter was rather lackluster in terms of memorable scenes. I enjoyed writing it, sure, but it didn't have the same amount of impact as the previous chapters. So come to my surprise when you send me a message.

Either way, I shall place it in the collection! My profile will be updated after this chapter is up.

Now, in regards to the previous poll...

My GOD, y'all are thirsty for some vampire juices. Like holy hell, people. Look, just because you can't score with the queen in game doesn't mean you can live your fantasies through someone else's fanfiction-

Ow. Ow, ow, ow. Why does it feel like I just shot myself?

[You know the drill; on with the show!]

* * *

Hephaestus was having a productive day. She managed to catch up on her paperwork as well as get a start on the next batch, evaluate and approve some proposed projects while returning others for better development, and supported her favorite child with another one of his whacky and potentially heretical inventions. And it wasn't even noon.

Then, the storm that was Hestia blew into her office.

"Hephaestus! I need your help!"

Hephaestus stopped her quill and took a deep breath. Slowly, to draw out as much time as possible to collect herself, she placed everything away and cleared her desk. Only then did she cup her hands together and look at her friend.

"I'm not lending you a single val," she opened.

"How rude!" Hestia jerked. "That's not what this is about! It's about my child. He's been telling me some things. At first I thought he was terrified because of the recent nightmares of his but it might not actually be that. Some of the things he's been telling me are starting to scare me. I think someone is trying to steal him from me!"

Hephaestus quirked a brow but her overall expression didn't change any further. "You mean the Cainhurst Queen? Yes, I know, Hestia. I was there."

"This and that are two different things," Hestia shook her head. "It goes deeper than that homewrecker's schemes. Here, take a look at this."

From her purse did she retrieve…

"Is that the knife you had me make the boy?" Hephaestus gave her a blunt look. "The one you tried to get a full refund for… what was it? 'Shattering into a million-zillion-bajillion pieces'?"

"Take a look at it and tell me what you see," Hestia said firmly as she approached the desk and placed the sheathed knife down.

Hephaestus withheld her remark. Hestia rarely spoke so calmly. She could count the number of times Hestia was serious about anything. She indulged her for this part and picked up the weapon.

At first, it was her exact make. The instrument was hardly worn though she could feel the impression the boy had left on using it repeatedly. The hilt was still intact and the guard held a few scratches from a good number of close-calls… from blades, not claws. She hadn't designed the weapon to fight adventurers and she hadn't expected the boy to reach the Dungeon floors where monsters wielded weapons so soon.

Her brow shot up as soon as she pulled out the knife just a crack. She knew… this wasn't her blade.

"What the hell is this?" she nearly demanded as a cool fury started to boil within her chest. She pulled out the knife and brought its edge up to her eye. The shape of the knife was the exact same— a straight-edge instrument at seventeen-and-a-half celches long.

The metal was all wrong. She had constructed the blade out of primarily Mithril and some other conductive metals to work with Hestia's falna ritual. Instead… the metal used in this _forgery_ was…

It was made out of the same foreign metal as the Blade of Mercy.

She wasn't even going to try to read the runes decorating the knife. All she knew was the fact they weren't the same hieroglyphs written in the universal language of the gods. These were completely alien. Almost… unwelcoming.

"That doll gave my child that knife," Hestia answered grimly. "And… I don't think she's a Primal like we thought."

Hephaestus recalled the interaction with the goddess in the form of a human-sized doll. Oedon, she had introduced herself as. For all her investigations, she could not find anything on this goddess. Nor could any other _familia_ , including _Hermes Familia_ much to the blow in professional pride to their god. Since announcing herself at the Gathering of the Gods had the doll remained underground. None had heard word of her since.

She sheathed the knife and placed it back at the edge of her desk.

"What sort of things has your child told you?"

It was a long story, all things considered. But Hephaestus listened to everything. She made the two of them tea when she realized how long Hestia intended to stay.

Hephaestus was told about the Hunter's Dream, about how her child was abducted after he had perished under a Minotaur attack. Whether this Yarnham was a plane to the next world unknown to the gods or a creation of Oedon by illegal Arkanum use was unclear. All that was known was adventurers were being taken and turned into Hunters.

And Oedon was using her own falna ritual— by using something called Blood Echoes instead of excelia— to further bless the children and have them grow further.

Some things were unclear, as it was _Hestia_ telling the story and it was being delivered by second-hand telling. But Hephaestus understood the gist of it all.

The boy, Bell, had managed to escape that place. But Oedon still pursued him.

Hephaestus nodded. Her untouched tea had gone cold by the end of the story. She sympathized with the worry of her friend. However…

"And what do you intend for me to do about it?"

Hestia was caught flatfooted. She blinked, stared at Hephaestus, blinked again, and then shifted around on her balance. "I… I don't know. I was prepared to argue about it with you for some time. I didn't think I'd get this far… Wait. Does this mean you believe me?!"

Oh yes. She believed Hestia at the very start of the story. But she would never admit it.

"This is all the proof I need to know something is amiss," Hephaestus gestured to the knife still resting on her desk. "However untoward the situation may be, this sounds more like a problem directly involved with your _familia_. I can offer you my assistance wherever I can, but I can't fight your battles for you."

"W-What does that mean?" Hestia blanched.

"It means if Oedon wants your child and decides to challenge you to a War Game, my hands will be tied."

Granted, there did not exist an _Oedon Familia_ nor had the Guild acknowledged Oedon as a deity. The rules for War Games need not fully apply in this case. Still, she felt she had to say this piece to Hestia.

"I'm not letting that thing have my Bell," Hestia argued. "I didn't come here just for that. I came here because what he said got me thinking. What if Bell isn't the only person this thing took? What if there were other children from other _familias_? What if she's doing it even now?"

Hephaestus considered the possibility, "Then all I can do for the time-being is to keep an eye out on anyone who has a sudden burst of experience prior to a near-death experience. It shouldn't be too hard to miss considering I need to update the statuses of hundreds of children."

"You're the only one I can rely on, Hephaestus," Hestia said with a determined look. "That doll is still out there up to no good. If anyone has eyes and ears in the city, it'll be you."

Actually, that was more Hermes' shtick. Hephaestus was a blacksmith who ruled over a bunch of merchants and shut-ins. Even she rarely left her office if not to inspect the quality of her shops.

"I'll see what I can do," she conceded. "If similar circumstances arise within my _familia_ , I'll be able to present it as evidence for the Guild. I can't speak for the other gods— having their children suddenly grow stronger might be a boon to them and would like to keep their growth a secret."

Hestia looked somewhat guilty. After all, she had hidden away Bell's growth for some time.

"I think that's the best I can ask for," Hestia muttered. "Thanks, Hephaestus. Sorry if I'm keeping you from your work."

Just like old times, she mused. Even when kicking the girl out of her home did she still manage to find a way to impede her from doing her job.

"But, really, you should get out more," Hestia continued, looking around the dimly lit room. "There's a world outside this office, you know. You could use some sun. Maybe buy a cute dress for one of your children to—"

"Thank you, Hestia," Hephaestus groaned out once the girl ventured into dangerous territory. "Don't you have a potato stand to run?"

Hestia gasped. Not in insult but in startle. "That's right! I have the day off! I have a date with Bell to prepare!"

And just like that, the little goddess grabbed the knife and was out of the building. Hephaestus made a note to mention Bell again whenever Hestia showed up.

She was left alone to the sweet silence as she went back to work. Her mind wandered on occasion to Hestia's conversation, but not enough to fully diverge her attention away from the things that really mattered: profits.

A moment later did the tool-rack leading to her (not so) secret smithing station swing open. Welf Crozzo stepped out, wiping his hands on his apron before undoing the handkerchief over his brow. He looked around the office and spotted the kettle and cups.

"Something I miss?" he asked before coming around, making sure to not touch anything. He was covered in soot and sweat.

"Just an interesting conversation," Hephaestus muttered as she put down her quill again. "You didn't tell me your party leader came from the same place as you."

He didn't say anything as he poured himself a cup and took a drink. He did this three times to satisfy his thirst before keeping the fourth for sipping. The tea had grown cold long ago but he hadn't cared.

"So you believe me now?" he asked with his wolfish smirk. "Don't tell me he came here personally to check up on me."

"It was Hestia and your name was never brought up," Hephaestus answered simply. "She told me almost everything you had and then some. Her child had shared his secrets just as you had told me."

"Then what did you originally think?" his smile slackened. "When you updated my status for the first time I had already jumped to Level Four. Explain that one."

"I had thought you participated in the raids against Cainhurst before leaving Rakia," she answered, this time in a more blunt tone. "For everything you've brought into my _familia_ , the stories you told to explain them made no sense. You never once lied to me, so I only believed you were mad. Genius, but mad."

"Ouch," he muttered before taking a sip. Though there wasn't an ounce of hurt in his tone. They had this understanding for some time.

"But then the Hunters show up along with that Oedon," Hephaestus' brows furrowed. "She matched the description you gave me but you never once called her Oedon."

"Oedon," he cut her off with a clear and sharp voice, "is the formless Old One, often referred to as _the_ Great One, who can only exist in the mortal plane as a voice. Caryll was the only one who could hear his voice and not go mad. He translated Oedon's words into runes, which became known as Caryll Runes. They also say the best medium to reach him is through blood."

"When you say runes… do you mean like… these?"

She drew a few symbols she remembered seeing on the knife and showed it to him. His brows rose and he nodded.

"Why do you refer this being as a man?" Hephaestus asked.

Welf shrugged, "Dunno. He's formless so he can't have a gender. But, out of all the Old Ones out there, he was one of the few who managed to get some ancient queen pregnant. So… guy's gotta pack some kind of heat."

"Do you think there's a possibility the doll might not be Oedon then?" she asked next. "That it's some god using his name only?"

"I know next to nothing about the Doll," Welf responded with his head bowing in thought, trying to reach for memories buried deep. "When I was a Hunter, she was there to make me stronger. The beasts I hunted released something called Blood Echoes— and those suckers were the dying wishes of whatever I killed. I gave them to the Doll and she gave me power.

"If Oedon is formless, I think the Doll would be the perfect vessel. Plus there's the fact that Doll manipulated every Hunter's blood. Blood is the best catalyst for Oedon to reach our plane of existence, or so they say."

Hephaestus tapped a finger on her armrest as she thought to herself. Meanwhile, Welf finished the last of his tea.

"There's also something you should know," he spoke up. "The Old Ones. They're not like you gods. They didn't come from Tenkai. They came from… elsewhere. I don't know how to explain it. Rather than the heavens, they came from the cosmos. Does that make sense to you?"

"It does," she nodded. "More than I'm comfortable with."

His face was riddled with curiosity but he didn't press it. If she wasn't going to share then she had her reasons. He trusted her.

"You being out here means you're done?" she asked, eyeing his profile and the lack of results on his being.

"Nah," he waved his handkerchief at her. "There's still a few hours left to cook. Found a gap and decided I was in the mood to see your pretty face."

She scowled at him, "An idle hand makes nothing, Welf Crozzo. And did you just tell me you left _metal_ unchecked in _my_ forge?!"

"I know what I'm doing! I'm not some amateur; thought I proved that to you when you asked me to join your _familia_."

"You and I seem to remember things differently. Tell me, which one of my Mythril instruments did you break again?"

"One time!" he pointed a finger at her. "And that was to prove my smithing technique is better than your out of date methods."

"And yet you're here using my forge and my tools," she almost smirked; she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her smile.

"If I could afford Mithril and Orichalcum as much as you do, I wouldn't need to keep asking when it matters," he admitted with a shade of embarrassment and humility rising through his cheeks. "I'm only here to set the raw materials and start the framework. I can do all the fine-tuning and assembly back at my place."

It wasn't a secret Welf was her favorite child among her _familia_. Most believed it was because of his Crozzo blood and she was selfishly keeping his talents from going publically so she could amass an armory of magic swords. It was far from the truth, naturally. The things Welf made were always questionable and weren't designed for the likes of adventurers.

She understood the purpose of his designs now. He made weapons and armor for the likes of Hunters.

Still, wherever this Yarnham is, theirs was a place more advanced than what she could provide at the moment. As the goddess of the forge, she was astounded by the wisdom and secrets Welf brought to the forge. They were all things she knew but was limited to the technology and growth of her children. Yet, he had surprised her by presenting her with contraptions and tools she had never considered of.

It was a blow to her pride as the goddess of the forge. And she could have never been spiteful of him for it. If anything… it made her crave him.

To the point, she had offered him riches for his knowledge. And, not surprising as he had the pride (and stubbornness) of a true blacksmith, he had turned her down but still told her everything he knew. His progress would be so much quicker if he would just accept her help.

"What will I be expecting in the end?" she asked.

She knew what he was aiming for. He had shown her the Hunter's Church Cannon as well as that _book_ of a blueprint on what he was going to transform it into. She had to know what he was doing if she was going to approve this project as well as allow him to use _her_ forge. This wasn't the point of her question and he knew it.

"…Something that will change the Crozzo name forever," was his answer. He placed his cup down and redid his handkerchief over his brow. "Break's over. I'm going back into the fray."

She watched him go without a word. The compartment was sealed shut and the noise and heat of the forge disappeared. She was left alone in her office with only her paperwork for company.

It took her longer than it should have for her to go back to work. The information about Oedon remained in the front of her mind. That… and she had to reevaluate the Old Hunter formerly known as Djura of the Powder Kegs.

0-0-0

The sun was about to set. It'll still be a few hours before the shops started to close and the nightly events started to open. The lights hadn't even gone on yet.

Welf walked down the streets from Hephaestus' private office. On his back was everything he had worked together plus the tools he 'borrowed' from his goddess. She probably knew he had taken them with her meticulousness and would use it as an excuse to punish him for it tomorrow.

In his arm was a brown paper bag containing tonight's dinner for he and— he snorted, gaining a look from a passerby— his favorite _stooge_. He munched on a piece of bread to curb his appetite until he could return home.

"Welf."

…Dinner would have to wait. And to think, today was going so well.

He could never mistake the voice that had called out to him from the alleyway. He did not question how they managed to sneak in or what they were doing here. Those came with obvious answers. He only questioned how long they had been waiting for him to walk down this street as well as how they knew he would take this one. Someone had to have been keeping tabs on his behavior recently.

He turned quickly and entered the alleyway. A cloaked figure met him, turned, and led him deeper within. He followed without question until they turned the corner and entered an empty lot. Now no one in the streets could see him.

"Vil," he greeted without warmth. "It's been some time. Care for some bread?"

The figure removed his hood. He was a middle-aged man with red hair and streaks of gray. His face was darkened and leathery from the years in front of a forge.

"Is that any way to speak to your father?" returned Vil Crozzo.

Welf didn't reply. He kept eating his piece of bread, dragging out the silence until Vil lost his patience. He watched as either the man would turn antagonistic or would start talking.

"I've come to bring you home."

Talking it was then.

"No thanks," Welf returned immediately. "Orario is my home now."

"Your talents are being wasted here," Vil tried to press. Welf noticed instantly the tinge of desperation the man had been trying to hide. "Rakia is where your talents truly shine. Lord Ares has promised to restore the family its noble status if, and only if, you return and make us magic swords again. Our name will be restored, Welf. Our name will be remembered—"

"If you say 'our' or 'us' or 'we' again," Welf cut him off with his own patience running thin, "I'll shoot you myself where no one will find your body until the trash comes days from now."

He didn't have his pistol with him. But the man didn't need to know the threat was empty.

"How dare you speak to me like that!" the man snapped. "I am your father! You _will_ show respect where it is—"

Rather than shoot the man (because he didn't have his gun and because the man hadn't broken the conditions) Welf reached for a tomato and brought it around before Vil could react. The fruit splattered across his cheek.

"Respect…" Welf growled. "I will not respect a man who was willing to use a little boy for his own gain. And here you are now doing the same thing. Didn't you hear me, _old man_? I have no interest in returning to Rakia. Your house isn't mine. I cut ties with that place. I _am_ home."

He would have left the man at that. But this wasn't a reunion between father and son. His instincts as a Hunter told him he was surrounded. Others were watching their conversation. He was surrounded.

"…I see you are still just a brat," his father half-growled and half-sighed. "If you will not see to reason then I will have to bring the hand, as usual."

His cloak parted slightly to reveal what he had hidden underneath. Clasped in his hand was a red dagger, glowing dully with magical energy. Welf did not need a closer inspection to recognize it. It was a Crozzo magic weapon— one of the few left on this planet.

"I am not the only one who infiltrated the city," the man continued, ignorant of what Welf already knew. "We each have a magic sword. If you do not return with me, they are under orders to use them on the city. Hundreds of lives will be lost, Welf. Maybe even thousands. You know what these weapons are capable of."

Welf kept his face stoic as his mind raced.

First, if he ever smelled bullshit before in his life…

Second, it would be better if he remained in Orario. He was the last true Crozzo. Welf was the only one who could create the legendary and feared magic swords— weapons that had pushed the elves to near-extinction and had ridden the planet of the Ancient Spirits. If a few thousand Orario citizens died, it was better than the countless others that will perish if he was enslaved by Rakia.

However…

"How do you plan on leaving the city?" he asked.

He cannot live with those loses. Going with the man or following this fault in the plan wouldn't solve the problem. Rakia would continue to pursue him.

He had promised to Kos to never allow another massacre again. It was why he manned the turret as Djura and gunned down any Hunter who dared to hunt in his territory. So long as he breathed, he will not abide innocents being slaughtered. Never again.

Vil smiled in victory, "We have our informants within the city. We have a way to escape the city undetected. You will meet us at the docks at midnight. One of ours will follow you from here on out. Mention word of this to any of your friends and we will carry out our orders. You are free to return to your dwelling. But bring every magic sword you've created since coming to the city."

Those instructions were just vague enough to work.

Welf turned his back on his father and returned to the streets. Vil remained in the darkness while the other presences spread out. One remained on the rooftops, tailing Welf and keeping an eye on him at all times.

Still carrying his pack and bundle of food, he continued on down the street as though he hadn't just wasted ten precious minutes.

By the time he reached East-Main, he had bumped into someone unexpected.

"Bell," Welf greeted.

"Eh, Welf?" the boy blinked and looked up at the taller man.

"What's up with you?" Welf asked as he looked the boy over. His clothes were a wreck and he had bags under his eyes. "You look like someone kicked you off the wall."

As Welf stuck his thumb out to gesture at the wall that surrounded the city, Bell paled until his skin matched his hair. He didn't know how or why, but Welf had struck the head on the nail. Questions popped to his head.

"I-It's just been a long day," the boy deflated with a broken smile. "What about you? How have things been since last I've seen you?"

"Productive," Welf shrugged. But then he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "At least that's what I'd like to believe. I'm on schedule but… there's still a lot of work ahead of me. Don't worry, I'll still get everything done by the end of next week. I've also begun process of making you a new coat. Any requests before it gets too deep?"

"I'm fine with whatever you make," the boy answered honestly. "The last coat I had was great. So something like that. But… if it's possible… something that will survive against Lady Maria again."

"I'll see what I can do," he returned while his mind ran through possibilities. Those damn Cainhurst blood weapons were a pain in the ass. "Heading home? You look like you need a good rest."

"A-Actually… I'm going to meet with my goddess," the boy fidgeted where he stood. "I… did something I wasn't supposed to. I'm making it up to her by buying her dinner."

"Right now?" Welf's brows scrunched as he eyed him over again. "Just like that?"

"W-Well I thought about going home to change but I won't be able to make it in time," the boy fidgeted some more. "I'm supposed to meet her by sundown. I thought about using the showers in the Guild or Babylon Tower but… Eina is probably still mad at me and I'm not allowed in the Dungeon."

Welf didn't know where the boy lived other than somewhere in the outskirts. He supposed it wasn't enough time to race down there and match the deadline. The showers reserved for adventurers were probably barred from him, just as he said. Welf couldn't say much since he didn't know how far the suspension really went. He didn't try to test it either way.

"That is a problem…" Welf agreed. "There's no way any of those fancy restaurants will allow you in like that."

"…Eh?" Bell blinked.

Welf stared at him with a flat look. That one retort told Welf the entire story. Still…

"Where exactly do you plan on taking your goddess, Bell?"

"T-The Benevolent Mistress. Why?"

Welf couldn't stop his hand from planting itself on his face. This… _boy_ cannot be serious!

"Come with me," Welf said lowly as he grabbed the Good Hunter by the collar of his jacket and dragged him up East-Main.

"Ehhhhhhh?!" Bell screamed as his heels were dragged across the floor.

0-0-0

"Feeling better?" Welf asked after ingesting his second ale.

After lots of greetings, questions from the maids (especially from that Syr girl who had it _bad_ for the Good Hunter), and explanations from Welf, Bell was allowed to use the showers of the Benevolent Mistress. The entire place was in a scramble over this boy, Welf swore. A couple fought over who was going to do his laundry, a group had gone out and purchased new clothes for him (who creepily knew his sizes and had no shame in handing him the receipt), and the cooks were plotting a five-course meal for when Bell brought his goddess over.

Welf had tried to tell them, without disrespecting the establishment, Bell was going to take his goddess to a high-end establishment in the upper district. He was even willing to use Hephaestus' name to let them in and face his goddess' fury.

The girls didn't listen to him. He swore this entire place circled around that boy.

"A little," Bell said as he stood in fresh clothes at Welf's tableside. "I thanked everyone. O-Oh, thank you Welf. You helped me a lot."

"Take a seat," Welf gestured to the seat across of him.

"B-But—"

"There's another hour before sundown," Welf urged again. "You and I need to talk about a few things before you run off to make a fool of yourself."

The café had turned back into a tavern. There were a few customers for the maids to serve. Most of them were merchants and working class citizens. There were a few adventurers present before the evening rush. One such customer was the cloaked stalker who sat near Welf's table, keeping tabs on his conversation as he drank his ale.

Welf paid him no mind.

Bell agreed eventually and took his own seat. They both half-expected one of the maids (Syr) to come by and take his order. Instead, they left them be, probably because they knew Bell would be leaving soon to retrieve his goddess.

"What did you want to talk about, Welf?" Bell asked with such an innocent gaze it was hard to believe this boy had ended the Dream.

"Start at the beginning," Welf sighed. "What unspeakable deed that was clearly not your fault had your goddess strong-arming you into buying her dinner?"

Bell blinked, "B-But it was my fault. I entered without knocking and I saw…"

Welf nearly rolled his eyes. Been there; done that. He found himself rubbing his wrist where Tsubaki had tried to brand him and he had to fend her off.

"Let me guess," Welf leaned forward. "You caught your goddess undressing."

Bell gasped enough to suck up all the oxygen in the room. "H-How'd you know?!"

Been there; done that, he repeated in his mind.

"Don't you two live together?" he asked instead. "It's bound to happen. And I'm sure you apologized profusely and put your heart into it. But she wouldn't take your apology and demanded divine retribution. So instead she demands you spend all the valis you earned in the past three months on a new anvil or rare materials or a meal fit for a small army. Never mind you've been saving all that money to kickstart the project your goddess rejected because she doesn't believe it will work. Yeah, it blew up the first two times but they always say third time's the charm!"

"Um… Welf…?"

Welf took an exceptionally long drink of his ale. He raised his mug up in a silent gesture for a refill.

"Coming~" the ever-attentive (read: nosy) Syr, who shot glances at Bell every other second, sang in glory now that she had an excuse to approach the table.

"Am I wrong?" Welf asked next.

"…Not exactly," Bell admitted with some reluctance. "I, um…"

He looked around the room to see if anyone was listening. Everyone was drowning in either their own conversations or booze. He had spotted the stalker, who hadn't bothered to hide his presence, and asked Welf with his eyes. Welf only gestured it wasn't anything to worry about and the Good Hunter accepted it. Still, he gestured for Welf to come closer.

"I saw my goddess'… b-boobs," Bell whispered with his face turning crimson.

"…Go on," Welf pressed in a normal voice.

"T-That's it!" Bell returned with wide eyes.

For the record, when Tsubaki wanted to brand him, he had seen something a lot more private than her breasts. That girl had nearly no shame to begin with. No one but him knew how many times those bandages wrapped around her chest came undone.

"You know nothing about women, do you?" Welf more observed than questioned.

"W-What do you mean?"

"Let me ask you this," Welf went back to his lax posture. "When you saw Hestia like that, what was her exact reaction? Did she scream? Did she throw something at you?"

"N-No…" Bell blushed further at the memory playing in his head. "She said she didn't mind. But I know she did! It was improper! I saw something Grandpa told me was precious to all girls!"

"Girls," Welf pointed out. "But not an ageless being like Hestia. For example, Syr, if Bell suddenly saw you undressing, how would you react?"

"W-W-What are you asking so suddenly?" the maid asked as soon as she approached the table with his third mug of ale.

There was an adorable moment as neither the maid nor the Good Hunter could manage to look at each other in the eye. Too bad neither of them could see the chemistry already made between them.

"See?" Welf pointed at the maid. "That's how a girl's supposed to react. Instead, your goddess took advantage of your own embarrassment and got you in a position you couldn't refuse."

"Please don't use me like that," Syr frowned at him. She also didn't leave as soon as her sole purpose was complete.

"B-But a man should take responsibility, shouldn't he?" Bell asked.

"Yes, he should," Welf nodded back. "Hell, if I saw Hestia's knockers I would have bought her a house. Sorry Bell but… have you _seen_ your goddess? Don't answer that."

Bell frowned at him this time.

Welf put up a hand before anything else against him could be made, "It doesn't matter if she swindled you into this or not. You should be a man and take her out to dinner. But, if you're going to do it, go all out. No offense, Syr, but there are better places than the Benevolent Mistress."

"None taken," the maid put a hand to her cheek and thought out loud. "I would love it if Bell took me to a fancy restaurant where I needed to wear a dress, the table lined with white cloth and lit by candles, and a rich orchestra of instrumental music played a sonata to our romantic evening."

"…Eh?" Bell looked at her.

"The point," Welf regained his attention, "I would take full advantage of the situation if I were in your shoes. Instead of seeing it as a way to apologize to her, treat it as an actual date. Go and have a good time. Treat your goddess to something she will never forget and, just maybe, something good will happen once you get home—"

He saw stars for a moment when that damnable maid struck the back of his head with her tray. She knew where exactly to hit; where any lesser man would have been out cold. Instead, the room was spinning as he tried to regain his bearings.

"S-Syr?!" he heard Bell cry out in alarm.

"I'm sorry," Syr stuck her tongue out in a playful manner. "I saw a spider and panicked. Are you okay, Mister Crozzo? Did that hurt? I missed the spider; it shouldn't come back if you not repeat what you just said. I'm sure of it."

This crazy broad. Was everygirl after the Good Hunter's _Trick Weapon_ insane?

"Look at me straight in the eye and tell me I'm wrong," he demanded from the maid.

She stared hard at him. But after a moment, as the thought cycled around her head, she began to blush and look away.

"Thank you, Welf," Bell said with some relief. Some. Something else was bothering him. "But… she's my goddess. I can't treat her like…"

For a moment, his eyes darted towards Syr before flashing back at Welf. _If only_ the girl hadn't been blushing and looking away at the golden moment. _Teenagers_. Though Welf looked only a few years older than them, he had aged back in Yarnham and had nearly completed his life.

"I don't see why not," Welf grumbled, starting to become irritated with the boy's lack of confidence. _This_ was the Hunter who beat Gehrman? "Gods… really aren't all that different from us. They love just as much as we do, sometimes more. For example, I'm in a relationship with my goddess."

He finished with a dismissive shrug and a drink of his ale. He watched at the boy's eyes widened.

"Syr," some Nameless Adventurer called out, "can I have another—"

"Can't you see I'm busy!" she snapped back. "Bell, y-you shouldn't listen to him. I think Mister Crozzo has had too many to drink. Think about it. Gods are beings above mortals. Their lives are eternal compared to mortals. You should end up with someone more relatable. Someone, maybe, who happens to make you lunch on a daily basis?"

Wow. If _that_ didn't scream desperate…

"You might be right," Bell sighed in defeat. "Hestia will outlive me. But, Syr, you're the only person who makes me lunch. What other girl out there can— W-Welf! What's wrong?!"

At this point, Welf slammed his head against the table. Not only had the Good Hunter resigned all advice Welf had given him but he had been completely ignorant of Syr's attempts of a confession. The poor maid. Granted, he hated the girl for smacking him and arguing against him, but he could sympathize with her for this small bit.

"You are hopeless," Welf growled, rising his head just enough for his chin to rest on the table. "You know nothing about women. I bet you don't even realize that Sword Princess is completely smitten with you!"

Syr gasped.

But Bell?

"Aiz isn't smitten with me…" the boy sobbed with his head bowing with resignation. "She hates me. Earlier today during training she kept knocking me out. I know she's mad at me, but I don't know why. She mentioned Cainhurst and when I brought up the Queen she kicked me so hard I fell off the wall. I had to use my Blade along the wall to slow my descent. I still broke a lot of my bones and Miss Alf had to heal me with her magic. But she called me an idiot afterwards…"

Welf had his head in his hands. It was impossible— Aiz Wallenstein was _jealous_?! Oh, Welf had heard everything about the Queen of Cainhurst from Hephaestus. He heard about Bell's involvement with the Queen and how Aiz stormed in with Hestia during the meeting.

And the boy didn't realize how deep in shit he was in.

"Did it ever occur to you that, maybe, almost every girl in Orario is in love with you?" Welf blurted out in a mix of irritation and anger… and some mild jealousy.

"Eh?" Bell said his trademark, irritating Welf further.

Welf stared at his beer, grumbled a few dark nothings into it, and took a long swig until the entire mug was finished. He slammed it down onto the table and glared daggers at the Good Hunter. The boy flinched in response.

"Listen or don't," he said, losing any sensitivity from the conversation through the booze. "Your goddess, Lil-E, the _kenki_ , that flat-chested Amazoness, the Cainhurst Queen, your Guild advisor— hell, practically every girl here in the Benevolent Mistress. Am I wrong?!"

He turned to look at the maids. As if they hadn't been listening in on his ranting, they all looked away and found something to distract themselves. Even the kitchen staff, who had been huddled near the window, scurried away. He hadn't noticed or thought of them until he saw their fleeing movement.

Syr was puffing her cheeks and glaring at him. This was fine. He was content with becoming a martyr and being spited by every girl here. So long as the Good Hunter learned of his position. He personally thought it was half their fault for never telling anything to his face.

Bell was staring at him with a perplexed expression. The boy was lost. He didn't believe Welf for an instant. And who was to blame him? He was, what, fourteen? It was fair; Welf didn't understand his first crush when he was at that age.

But he felt an obligation to help the Good Hunter. It was the least he could do. This much he owed to the young man who saved him from the Dream.

"What I'm trying to say…" Welf considered his words carefully. "I think you should try to take that leap of faith. I know you might be scared. Maybe your goddess isn't as interested in you as you are with her. You will never know unless you try. And, the same goes for every girl you come across. You will never learn how they really feel until you ask them directly."

Bell blinked a number of times. There was still doubt in his eyes. He was already dismissing Welf's words as drunken stupor.

"Alright, fine," Welf challenged. "Ask Syr. I dare you."

"Eh?!" Syr fidgeted where she stood in a similar fashion to the Good Hunter. "D-Don't put me on the spot like that! I'm not mentally prepared for this! N-Nameless Patron! I'll go get your ale now!"

"…My name is Abe," said the customer who had tried to get her attention earlier. He had also received a mug from another one of the girls.

Welf grabbed onto her wrist to make sure she wouldn't flee.

"Eh…" Bell dragged out the syllable as he scratched his cheek. "I understand what you're saying, Welf. I promise to treat my goddess to a nice dinner and make her happy. It's the least I can do as—"

"I mean it," Welf pushed. "Ask Syr. Right now. It's a very simple question. 'Syr, would you like to go on a date with me?'"

He knew he was being a bully. He was putting Syr on the spot. He was receiving several glares from the maids and patrons alike. They had shamelessly been listening to the conversation. He didn't mind the villain so long as the Good Hunter grew out of the experience.

Syr was shaking where she stood. Welf still refused to let her go. Thankfully, the matron of the tavern wasn't present to crush his skull.

Bell had reverted into his metaphorical shell. He sank into himself and refused to look at Syr in the eye. His face was a blushing mess. Welf kicked him under the table to jerk him back into this reality.

"S-Syr…" Bell began in a mix of embarrassment and fear. "D-Do you… want to… d-date me?"

Welf had chosen his words carefully. He had considered asking if she liked the boy but that could have been easily played off as teasing. If Welf hadn't been at the Benevolent Mistress before, he wouldn't have known how Syr would have reacted prior. He had to do this in this fashion.

"T-That's not fair," Syr said in a low voice. She jerked her arm; Welf decided to let her go. She clutched both hands to her chest. "I shouldn't be put on the spot like this. A man should confess his feelings first. I…"

Bell was staring up at the maid with widened eyes.

"I fell in love with you since Mosterphilia!" Syr blurted out with tear-stricken eyes.

And then she made a mad dash for the kitchens.

Bell was slack-jawed as he watched Syr run off. His head swiveled around to Welf with eyes full of disbelief. He was trying to check if what just occurred really did happen. He then looked at everyone in the tavern.

"Does that count?" one of the maids asked suddenly.

"I'm counting it, nya," said another. "Who nya'd this week's ticket?"

A good number of patrons and maids pulled out slips of papers from their persons. Others whined and groaned in loss. One of the maids went around collecting the tickets and distributed bundles of valis into their hands.

…Even his Rakian stalker had been in on it. _How long_ had they been spying on him…?

Apparently there had been a pool based on what Welf had just done. Hell, if he knew about it then he would have participated. Though… he probably would have been disqualified for setting things in motion.

"W-Welf…" in the meantime, the Good Hunter was having a sort-of anxiety attack. Or seizure based on how badly he was twitching in his seat. He was on the verge of running after Syr but was glued to his seat. He looked up at Welf with pleading eyes.

"One problem at a time," Welf sighed as he crossed his arms. "Let Syr calm down first. Worry about your goddess for the evening and then reply to Syr's feelings the next time you see her. Just don't keep her waiting. Oh, you should also make it a point to talk to those girls I mentioned earlier."

"W-What… H-How…" Bell muttered as he stared down at the table.

"This is what happens when you charm more girls than you can handle," Welf groaned, rubbed a hand through his hair, and stood. He placed a few coins on the table for his drinks. "Now that you know for sure Syr likes you, what else is there to lose? Ask the same question to those girls and maybe one of them will return your feelings. Who knows?"

Bell said nothing. His mouth hung open with awe as a spark of insight twinkled in his eyes. Whatever he absorbed through Welf's words gave him inspiration to some dream only he could see.

"…I don't think that's appropriate advice to give," the elf maid who was attached to Syr at the hip came by to clear their table. She shot him a piercing glare. "You don't want to turn Mister Cranel into some sort of womanizing delinquent."

And just like that, Bell's imaginary bubble was popped. The Good Hunter sank back down into his seat as he mulled over her retort.

"Anyways… that's all the time I can spend," Welf gathered his things and was ready to be off. "Take care, Good Hunter. And good luck tomorrow in your fight against that Loga guy. Wish I could go and watch but I've work to accomplish."

"Wait, who?" Bell asked.

Welf had waved a hand in departure but the boy's question made him stop and look over his shoulder. "Loga. Bete Loga. Y'know, the Fenrir of _Loki Familia_? Didn't you have some kinda mock battle or somethin' against him tomorrow? Least that's what Hephaestus told me."

Bell drew up a blank. But after a few blinks, he nearly fell out of his seat as though someone had slapped him across the face.

"I completely forgot about that!" he blurted out.

And then, as if the appointed time was drawing dangerously close, he booked it out of the tavern and ran up the street. Welf stepped out to watch him run.

"Where do you think he goes when he does that?" he asked aloud. He had intentionally asked the stalker who remained in his seat, which wasn't too far away from the door. He didn't expect a reply.

"We tend to believe it's to get himself into further trouble," the elf maid (Welf should _really_ learn her name) stepped out but remained on the tavern's patio. "Mister Crozzo, a word with you?"

He gave her a sideways glance. She had his attention.

"Mister Cranel seems to trust you enough to include him in his party," her face was a porcelain mask but her eyes were calculating and sharp. "He is a gentle soul who trusts everyone without prejudice. That does not mean he is the best judge of character. In fact, I believe he refuses to be suspicious of anyone until what has been wronged happens too late."

"I'm not gonna corrupt the kid," Welf turned and placed his hands on his hips. He gave a light snort as he cracked a smile, "I get this feeling I gotta look out for him as his elder. There's no harm in trying to make him man-up— it's painful to watch everyone walk all over him. You know this just as much as I do."

He gave her a knowing smirk. His words were a jab at her intentions. Whoever this girl was, they were in the same boat. The Good Hunter meant something to them and they were both supporting him in their own way.

"Be that as it may…" the maid closed her eyes in acknowledgement. Her eyes were still as sharp when reopened. "Syr is someone precious to me. I do not appreciate your method of humiliating her in front of her interest."

Welf lost his smirk as he rubbed the back of his head, "Y'know… you're right. I outta apologize to her. It wasn't right of me to put her on the spot like that. Bell needed a good kick and I ended up dragging her under too…"

"Is he gone?" the person of mention came out of the tavern with a small box in her hands. She looked up and down the street and around Welf's presence.

Welf was hoping to have some time to think of a proper apology. Well, nothing worked better than to bite the bullet and just grovel. It worked with Hephaestus and Tsubaki (half the time) so it should work here.

He bowed at the waist, "Sorry about that. You probably had something better in mind or wanted him to confess. I should have gone about this differently."

"No, no," the girl was practically singing as she approached him. "Stand straight, Mister Crozzo. True, I wanted him to bring me a bouquet of flowers and sweep me off my feet. But it's Bell we're talking about. I'd actually like to thank you. I'd probably be waiting forever for that day if not for you."

When he stood up straight, she placed the box in his hands.

"It's not much but it's some of the cakes baked earlier today," she was glowing at him. "I want you to have it. And please, knock some sense into Bell when you can. He can be a little dense sometimes."

"Syr," another maid stepped out. "The nozzle for the ale isn't working. Do you know where we keep the spare?"

"Coming~" she sang and skipped back into the tavern.

He and the elf were left alone. Her eyes became flat as she looked back at him.

"…I won't say you were wrong and I was right," he muttered while trying to figure out how to carry the box under his arm without crushing the contents.

He had to suppress the smirk when he saw her brow twitch once.

"Y'know," he brought up when she was about to dismiss him. "If you and Syr are as close as you say, I'm sure she wouldn't mind sharing if that boy confesses to you."

"That is not amusing, Mister Crozzo," she frowned.

"I'm not kidding," he frowned back. "Look, it's hard to keep track of who he likes and whatnot. I see him glimpsing at every girl we come across. But I at least can tell when someone likes him. You probably stare at him just as much as Syr. You're just good at hiding it."

Not good enough. But still good. It would take someone exceptionally skilled to elude his keen senses as a Hunter.

"You misunderstand," her frown deepened. "I was merely making sure your problem does not find its way to Mister Cranel. Though… I do appreciate you not getting him involved in your questionable affairs."

She had gestured at his stalker, who swiveled back around and went back to pretending to being a normal patron.

"If you say so," he sighed and rolled his shoulders. The pack of metal objects jingled. "It's not my business and I think I've gotten more involved than I originally wanted. Just promise to not break his heart if he ever approaches you. Otherwise you and I are going to have a problem."

Rather than take offense to his light threat, her expression had softened with understanding. What suspicions she had about him had washed away. He had managed to convince her he had no ulterior motives about the Good Hunter and was honest in his intentions.

They broke apart without a word. The maid returned to the tavern while Welf returned to his hike back home. He was probably half a block down the road when he felt the same pair of eyes watching his back. His stalker had resumed his job.

Seeing as how there were no sudden explosions around town, it meant he hadn't broken any of the conditions his father had given him. And now that this distraction was over, Welf can deal with the problem properly.

0-0-0

"Who's there?!" demanded Tsubaki.

"Nobody," Welf answered dully as he climbed down the steps to his secret workshop.

He hadn't seen Tsubaki as he descended. She was deeper in the workshop and around the corner. But he heard the splitting wind of a projectile heading his way.

He had a fragment of a second to tilt his head just as one of his blades lodged into the wall where his face had been.

"What the hell woman?!" he barked back at her.

"That's not funny and you know it!" Tsubaki Collbrande, captain of _Hephaestus Familia_ , waved the tool in her other hand at him in warning. She was a half-dwarf with dark skin, black hair, and an eyepatch over her left eye. She wore a red hakama around her waist along with straw sandals. Normally she would wear a sarashi over her chest… but the heat of the forge had her take it off. Her chest was only covered with bandages.

He checked himself, making sure nothing was bleeding, and took the last few steps into his workshop. He crossed the floor, stepping over discarded scraps of metal, food wrappers, and sprawled blueprints. It only consumed a small portion of his workshop (Tsubaki was professional and did not like cluttered space) and managed to gain flat footing as he neared his contraptions. He placed the bag of groceries on one of the iron tables while dumping his bag on the floor.

"Here," he said as he came up to Tsubaki and handed her the box Syr gave him. "For your hard work. I appreciate it."

"…Don't think this makes us even," she glared up at him but accepted the box anyways. She opened it to check the contents (her one eye twinkled with delight) before setting it down on the bench she sat on. She wouldn't eat with her hands covered in charcoal and various metal dust. "Just where the hell have you been? I thought you were going to be back hours ago."

"Something kept me," he said as he began to take the contents out of his backpack and spread them out. "How much did you get done?"

She observed him for a moment. He knew she had sensed something was off about him. He wouldn't hide it from her when she would ask.

"Most of the things you gave me," she answered as she examined her work space. Sheets of shredded metal were in a pile to her side while a set of uniquely shaped pieces were organized on the other. "But do you have any idea how hard it is to cut through all this and not make mistakes? I've been at this for hours and I've still got a few more to go. Why do you have these things in the first place? Can't you just make them by scratch?! Why do I have to sit here and cut these things out with these ridiculous Orichalcum shears?!"

She was normally friendly, borderline teasing. She was frustrated and he could understand. While she was just as fascinated with his blacksmithing technique as Hephaestus, she _hated_ spending time down here in his renovated sewer. Plus he had left her alone on this one task since leaving to use his goddess' forge.

"Because I have no idea how to make a plasma cutter," he grumbled.

"…Plasma cutter?" she looked at him.

"A contraption like the blowtorch that focuses lightning at such a fine point you can cut through those sheets of metal almost as easily as I drew the outlines," he answered while he tossed his empty pack across the room and out of the way. "The problem is I need something equivalent to an electric generator and an understanding of electrical engineering. I have neither. I know how to use the tools and repair most of them. The more complicated things requires a completely different field of study."

She decided to take a break. She placed her things down, stood, flexed her hand, and approached him. "So, Wolfy, are you going to tell me what's eating you up or do I have to get it out of you?"

She knelt down and threw her arms over his shoulder, pressing herself on his back. It made looking at the schematics in his hands a little difficult but he didn't shrug her off. She looked over his shoulder to study the same piece.

"I ran into my father today," he answered grimly, folding the paper back up. Squatting like this was uncomfortable. He decided to sit down. Tsubaki remained latched onto him.

He felt her eyes on him.

"He hasn't changed since last I've seen him," he went on. "He only thinks about the past glory of the Crozzo name. He's also trying to threaten me to leave Orario with him. There's a Rakian goon outside my shack. He shouldn't know about this workshop and probably thinks I'm busy at my forge."

"What do you want to do?" she asked simply.

"I'm supposed to bring every magic sword to the docks by midnight," he replied.

She snickered.

"…I have five hours," he went on. His voice had fallen in pitch. "Tsubaki… I'm going to need your help. Can I rely on you?"

"You know it's going to cost you, Wolfy," she purred back before pinching his cheek, slapping it lightly, and standing up. "How many times is it now? You're never going to get out of debt if you keep asking for all these favors."

"I have this theory it was your plan all along," he shot back.

"What an interesting theory," she smirked at him.

"…Sorry I can't make you dinner like I promised," he sighed as he stood up. He crossed the room to retrieve his apron, gloves, and tinted goggles.

"I should have expected it," she sighed half-heartedly as she gathered her own set of equipment. Unlike him, she didn't need gloves. Her stats were on a whole tier above him and, loath as he was to admit it, she was a better blacksmith than he will ever be.

…Because the skill of every _Hephaestus_ member on his back wasn't the traditional Blacksmith.

His read Gunsmith.

He couldn't have asked for anything better as a Powder Keg.

"Is five hours going to be enough?" she asked.

"With you at my side, we might beat the clock," he gave her a cheeky grin that had her grinning back. "This will require a lot of precision work. You're the only person with the right skills and technique to meet my demands. I'll be relying on you, Tsubaki."

"Flattery won't get you any closer to me sharing your bed, Wolfy," she snorted back. "But it's a good start. Now, what do you need me to do?"

The first thing he did was reach for a vial of mercury and a dagger.

Spilling the mercury into a container, he brought the dagger across his forearm and let the blood drip into the liquid metal.

0-0-0

Midnight had come sooner than he expected. There was a saying about time and having fun.

Tonight, he felt like being a little old fashioned. He donned the long coat and tri-horned hat he had made for himself on a whim when he first came to Orario. It wasn't comfortable to wear compared to his kimono when in front of a forge for hours. But it was appropriate for this evening.

Two things were strapped to his back— one a weapon and the other a parting gift. And hidden under his coat was his newly crafted prize.

Welf had a ferocious grin that made his name proud when he left the shack. His stalker— two, actually, this time— had roused from where they had been squatting and followed him through the shadows. The streets were empty as he made his way to the designated spot.

Tonight, Welf Crozzo joined the Hunt.

"Welf," his father had been waiting for him on one of the piers. A few other men surrounded him and Welf sensed a good number of others hiding elsewhere.

Welf said nothing. He stared at the older man while his instincts as a Hunter started to reawaken. Old habits and feelings were rising. He may not be as in tune to his instincts as the Good Hunter— the life of a smith had stagnated his potential in combat but never did they rust.

"Did you bring the swords?" was the first thing the man demanded.

Welf shrugged off the wrapped bundle from his back, catching it with one hand. Slowly, so to not trigger anything from the stooges, he undid the bindings and revealed a single Crozzo magic sword. It was a straight sword as long as his arm and glowing with dark energy.

He tossed it at their feet.

"…What is this?" his father growled. "Don't make a fool of me, Welf. Where is the rest?"

"That's it," Welf answered and pointed at the sword. "I only made one. It was just to prove a point to someone else. I've never made any other. I have no need of them and I have no interest in them. If you leave now, I'll let you keep that one."

Vil didn't take it so well. "Such insolence. Have you forgotten we possess magic swords of our own? We will burn down the city if you do not return with us and deliver us those swords!"

"No, you won't," he shot back with a firm voice. "I'm calling your bluff, old man. You're an idiot if you think I'm going to believe someone like Ares is willing to toss away his precious Crozzo stock on such a flimsy plot. There are less than fifty blades left since I was in Rakia. I can guess you have no more than three… and probably the least expensive of the bunch."

Vil was grinding his teeth. He drew out the magic dagger and pointed it at Welf. The goons around him drew their weapons— simple daggers and swords.

"Even so! Three magic swords are more than enough to lay waste to a good portion of the city! Hundreds will die and it will be your fault, Welf! You _will_ return with us and you _will_ make us more magic swords!"

"Look at you," Welf snarled. "Look at how far you're willing to go just for a petty title. You're willing to commit mass murder just to get some recognition from a bloodthirsty tyrant?"

"I will do what I must to return the family to its glory," Vil snarled back. "Without you, the Crozzo name will die off. I will not let that happen."

"You're pathetic," Welf snapped. "Where is your pride as a blacksmith? Honor? Titles? Recognition? A true blacksmith doesn't need any of those things. The true glory lies in what he makes with his own hands."

"And we cannot make magic swords. Our family will rot away without them."

"Bullshit!" Welf shouted. "So long as you have a hammer can you make anything! Who was it who taught me that?! It was you, old man! I never needed any magic sword to get where I'm at now! I made do without them."

Final negotiations had failed as soon as this turned into a shouting match. He knew they were destined to fall apart but a small piece of him, the son who still loved his father, had wanted the man to see things his way. The man was too far gone in past delusions and lost glory. He was too consumed in his selfish desires he couldn't see into the future like Welf.

They stared at each other as emotions swam.

"After all this time… you're still a child," his father had sighed in hopelessness, as though Welf was a lost cause. "Then, I have no choice. Take him."

Those hiding in shadow emerged. Welf was surrounded as no more than a dozen grunts approached with weapons drawn. And not one of them had a magic weapon. Ares had only given them the single dagger for this plan, it would seem.

He stretched his senses, trying to see all of them with his mind's eye. They had all come out of hiding to capture him.

He puckered his lips and gave a sharp whistle. The signal.

Spotlights of magic lanterns blazed down at them from the city walls and buildings surrounding the docks. Every Rakian infiltrator froze on the spot.

"Did you really think it was going to be that easy, Vil Crozzo?" Tsubaki barked out from one of the rooftops. She was accompanied with what members of _Hephaestus Familia_ she could gather under short time as well as reinforcements offered from _Hermes Familia_. Both gods, Hephaestus and Hermes, were perched on another rooftop to witness their children's operation.

While Welf had left his home through the front door, Tsubaki had left through the sewers an hour before to alert Hephaestus of this situation. This was the end result.

"You're surrounded," Welf spoke simply as he reached for the weapon at his back. "Surrender. No one needs to die today."

"Grab him and go!" Vil roared in a frenzy. "The rest of you stall them!"

What a fool. These Rakian mooks couldn't be any higher than the first Level. He even gave them the benefit of the doubt due to the Cainhurst war and mentally gave them the status of a Level Two. They still had no chance in fending off a platoon of Orario adventurers.

Not that he was willing to let them. They would have to get through him first.

They would find capturing him was next to impossible.

The weapon he pulled out and gripped with both hands was his modern version of the Hunter's Rifle Spear. The name said it all; a speared contraption that could detach the bladed tip to reveal the barrel of a gun underneath. The blade was made out of stainless steel— something so plebian compared to Mithril and Orichalcum— but more than enough for dealing with a group of newbies instead of nigh-invincible monsters.

He stabbed the first two before they could react. His speed stat was significantly higher than theirs even if he was more of a strength-build. The others after tried to put up a resistance. He swatted their weapons aside, stabbed into a few appendages, slashed a few arteries, and broke bones with the shaft and butt of his spear.

More than half of the mooks were out of the fight by the time the adventurers had cut off the exits and surrounded them. The other half were beginning to realize they _might have_ made a mistake and were backing up.

"Enough!" Vil roared out, though his voice reverberated with fear. He drew out the dagger once again. It started to light up as its power was about to be unleashed.

Welf cocked his weapon, snapping the spear tip to the side of the shaft through the mechanisms within. The barrel was exposed. He only needed a blink to take aim and pull the trigger.

The thunderous bang of his rifle could have woken the dead. He hit his mark. The dagger was knocked out of Vil's hand and flew through the air. It splashed in the water and immediately sank to the bottom.

Vil's head whipped around as he gripped his wrist. His eyes were crazed as he studied the weapon in Welf's hands. "You… You made a deal with Cainhurst?"

"No," Welf gave the man some satisfaction. "I learned from the man who was a better father than you could ever be. His name was Oto. He taught me to become a Powder Keg. Tsubaki, do me a favor? Hold this."

When she approached his side, he reverted the Trick Weapon to its default form and extended it for her to take.

"…You're asking for a lot of favors, Welf," she said in a crisp voice, watching him through a narrowed gaze. He was asking for a heavy favor, one that might jeopardize everything if he was wrong.

He nearly smiled. Of course she knew what he was about to do before anyone else.

Leaving the Rifle Spear in her care, he took a few steps forward. He gestured for the other adventurers to stand back. They complied, though were ready to leap in should their gods give out the order. He felt their gaze at his back; Hermes and Hephaestus were watching him with a clinical glower.

He stood a few meders away from his father. He pointed at the magic sword still resting on the floor.

"Pick it up," he demanded.

"Welf…" he heard Tsubaki warn. He ignored it.

Vil was heavily skeptical. He looked around, expecting someone to stop him. He approached cautiously, knelt down, and snatched the sword and leapt back quickly. Everyone tensed and grew anxious, wanting to spring forward. But they stayed back. The gods didn't give any signal.

"What is this?" Vil demanded in a low growl. His hands clutched the sword. Its power started to climb. He would use it if he needed.

"I'm making a point," Welf said, pushing back his coat so he could rest his hands on his waist. Specifically… on the holster at his side. "You're too consumed in the past, old man. You lost the ability to make magic swords for a reason. But instead of moving ahead, you're clinging to something you can't control. I moved on. I created something that outshines any magic sword.

"And I'll prove it. Use that sword. I'm going to show you what I created with my own hands and prove your ways are obsolete!"

More anxiety. He could feel it in the air. The adventurers were considering disobeying their orders and just take Vil. At the same time, they didn't dare to rush things seeing as the man possessed a weapon capable of taking out this entire district in a single swing. Any mistake would kill them all.

He was being selfish. He was risking all of their lives to make a point.

He couldn't help but give a wolfish grin as his fingers wrapped around the pummel of his weapon.

Vil growled with heavy confusion this time. He ought to be. He was surrounded, his plans foiled, and on the verge of defeat. And yet he was given a weapon that could turn this absolute defeat into a victory. He couldn't help but be skeptical.

In the end, he had no choice but to use the sword. If he did nothing, he would be captured and imprisoned. His mission would fail. But with the Crozzo sword? He could break free.

He raised the sword over his head. A bright light flashed as he brought it down.

"MOVE!" he heard Hermes shout in alarm.

"Dammit WELF!" he heard Tsubaki scream.

Adventurers scattered. They fled to get out of the blast range, whether they would succeed or not. However… Tsubaki stayed at his back. Not because she knew she wouldn't be able to escape. But because she had been there when Welf finished his craft.

A wave of fire exploded out of the Crozzo sword's edge. It incinerated everything in its path and the core of the wave would level everything in its path.

Welf wouldn't let that happen. He grabbed his weapon and drew it up.

It was what he named the Crozzo Pistol. The first of its kind.

…Briefly, he wished he had more time to apply the paint and ornaments.

With a pull of the trigger, the transfused Quicksilver Bullet within was fired out of the barrel. But instead of a small fiery blast like his Rifle Spear, there came a flash of deep red— the same color as blood. The strength of the recoil forced his arm upwards and he stumbled a few steps back.

A single, small, beam of red light pierced through the storm of flames… and dispersed it as though a hammer of wind met it instead of a bullet.

The bullet shattered the Crozzo sword… along with ripping off the arm of his father as it continued to travel without hindrance.

And it kept traveling, piercing through the city's walls and reaching for the skies and arching over the horizon until it will crash back down on the planet several miles away.

The only sound being heard was the screaming of his father… and a good portion of the dock on fire from the magic sword.

"What… What was that?!" the older man demanded through pain, fear, and disbelief.

"Progress," was Welf's answer. He adjusted his hat and turned his back on his father. "I am Welf of the Powder Kegs, gunsmith of _Hephaestus Familia_. Tell Ares if he ever puts others in danger just to get me, I'll shoot him myself."

It would be a while before Vil could return to Rakia. He would be delivered to the Guild for imprisonment and ransoming. That was also assuming Rakia would be willing to pay for a failure of a blacksmith.

Even worse, the man had lost his smithing hand. He would have to start completely over.

Welf left the man with those departing words.

…It would have been all the more dramatic if he didn't stumble from an uneven plank.

0-0-0

"…I thought it'd be bigger," Hephaestus said as she examined the Crozzo Pistol in her hands, flipping it over while making sure to keep her fingers away from the trigger at all times.

"Why do those words hurt so much?" Welf groaned as he ran a hand through his hair. His hat was tucked under his arm while he talked to his goddess on the rooftop. "It's just a prototype. There are a few kinks I need to work out. Like the recoil. Oedon Beyond that recoil…"

Hephaestus gave him a flat look after he had sworn in the name of another god.

He couldn't win! The one time he swore in her name did she throw a hammer at him! Who was he supposed to swear to? Hestia's tits?!

While they were alone together, Tsubaki and Asfi— the captain of _Hermes Familia—_ were taking charge and organizing the arrests of the Rakian infiltrators. Guild officials were there to record events as well as to escort them to the prison cells behind Pantheon.

"So…" Welf stepped a little closer to his goddess. "What do you think?"

"Absolutely reckless," she returned like a crack of the whip. The glare she shot him made a lump of coal fall to his stomach. "With your prowess could you have reprimanded all of them on your own. You didn't need to get Tsubaki involved. What's more, you endangered everyone's lives here by giving that man a dangerous weapon just to satisfy your own pride. And, worst of all, you displayed the stats beyond the Level One I have you registered as. Just what were you thinking?!"

He… He hadn't thought about it all that much. He really should have taken care of this problem himself.

"I was asking about the gun," he matched her gaze and gestured at the weapon still in her hands. Though he knew she was absolutely right, he wasn't going to let her see it. She'll never let it down.

She sighed and extended the gun towards him by the barrel. He accepted it but didn't place it back in its holster.

The barrel was cracked just from the first shot. He needed to find a better way to suppress the stress from the ignition. A lot of kinks to work out, indeed.

"I'm not sure what to think about it," she admitted. Her head turned to look at the damage the weapon had created. A hole the size of a fist pierced the city wall with cracks as long as several carts were spread around it. "By the looks of things, it's really not all that different from the magic swords you hate so much."

"There's a difference," he shot back. "Magic swords have a temporary life. They shine so brilliantly but then go out so suddenly. I can't accept that as a blacksmith. I always hated putting my heart and soul in making them… only for them to break after a few uses. Why can some weapons last forever while, no matter what, the Crozzo weapons can't outlive a single battle?"

"Your weapon looks on the verge of falling apart," she pointed out.

He clutched the pistol a little tighter. With pride.

"But it didn't die on me," he shot back with his wolfish smile. "It didn't shatter into a million pieces after its juice went out. It's a work in progress. The framework needs adjusting. I promise you, Hephaestus, I will create something that will outlive even the greatest of enchanted swords."

She let him see her smile. So rarely did she smile for one of her children. She never wanted their egos to get inflated. But right now, she couldn't be any prouder of him.

"It also caused a great deal of damage in your test-run," she gestured at the docks down below. "You do realize I'm sending you the bill to repair the wall, the pier, and the boats that sank."

"Wait, what?" he blinked at her. His face lost its color. "H-Hephaestus, wait! I can't afford any of that stuff! I can barely feed myself!"

"Then you should have thought of that before using the city as your training dummy," she countered. At the sight of him deflating, she sighed and looked back at the carnage. "I guess… I'll just have to take it out of your paycheck."

His brows came together. "Paycheck? But you don't pay me anything. What are you… O-Oh."

Realization donned on him when she looked back at him. Her expression had softened.

"You will choose no more than three applicants," she began firmly. "You will also have to get their consent. I expect to see a budget report for approval to receive funding, otherwise you will have to pay for your needs yourself. Depending on the progress your department makes in the next six months, I might be inclined to offer better budgeting and more applicants."

Welf… could hardly believe what his goddess was offering.

"We're not even married and you're dumping some of your kids on me," he grumbled while donning his hat in an attempt to hide his glowing face. He was doing cartwheels inside his mind.

"…I have to do something to make sure you stay," he heard her grumble back. He wasn't meant to hear it. Her words were against the wind and too low for the normal human to pick up.

"Hephaestus…" his voice dropped in pitch. "Were you worried I would go back to Rakia?"

She didn't answer. She gave him a sideways glance of dispassion but he saw straight through it. She had tried to shrug off the claim and failed. He knew her better.

"W-Welf!" she nearly squealed. "What do you think you're doing?!"

He snickered at this adorable side of her. He had approached her, closer than any other man would have dared, and placed his arms around her waist. He spun her around and drew her close to him until their bodies were pressed and faces celches away from the other.

"Honestly," he sighed with his wolfish smile intact.

"W-Wait…" she tried to fend him off. But she didn't put a decent amount of effort in it.

He reached up and brushed off the eyepatch from her face, revealing what the gods condemned her as an imperfect being. Many men before her, who claimed to love her, had called her horrible things for this blemish and retracted their love.

But Welf, he stared at Hephaestus without a second thought.

"I made a promise to you, Hephaestus," he told her. "You're my woman. I'm never going to leave your side."

With one arm wrapped around her waist and his other hand caressing her cheek, he raised her head and leaned forward to taste those soft lips.

"W-W-W-Wait!" Hephaestus pushed him with everything she had. "We can't! Someone will see!"

 _Everyone_ had seen. They were just doing their damnest to pretend otherwise. However, he could feel the glare of a promised death emanating from Tsubaki at the ground level.

Welf fixed the hat that was nearly knocked off. He kept up the smile, "Oh? Then does this mean I have permission to do this behind closed doors?"

Hephaestus' face was as red as her hair. She was looking elsewhere as she reattached the eyepatch. Her face had hardened back to its public appearance.

"…Tonight," she said before straightening herself and started to move to join Hermes down below. "Don't keep me waiting, Welf."

"I am the perfect gentleman," he sassed.

He heard her chortle before she climbed down the ladder to reach the ground.

"T-Tsubaki!" he, and probably everyone else, heard his goddess revert back to a squealing girl in love. "W-Welf is such a man! Did you see what he did?! He took me in his arms and reaffirmed his vows! I haven't felt this sensation since I forged my first lightning bolt!"

"…No, goddess," Tsubaki's irritated voice could be heard. "I must have missed it. Also, please try to remember Wolfy has better hearing than everyone else here."

There was a long pause.

"Tsubaki," Hephaestus' normal voice returned. "I understand you're infatuated with Welf but please try to keep all details to yourself. And since when could you forge lightning bolts?"

"D-Don't go and put the blame on me like that!"

Welf couldn't help but smile. His was a good life. He had everything he needed; a forge to keep creating… and two women who would break him in two time and again.

He holstered the Crozzo Pistol and decided to flee from the scene before Tsubaki broke another one of his arms. He had a night to prepare for anyways. Even the goddess of the forge didn't like soot in her bed.


	15. Chapter 15

**AN:** Wanted to finish this chapter with something special. It's a scene that is mentioned in another scene in this chapter. But, due to word count exceeding my intended number, I had to save it for next time. I already had to trim a few other scenes from this one chapter. Probably could have replaced one scene with another instead...

And hopefully by next chapter I can conclude the Apollo arc... which is only the first half of the Cainhurst arc.

Let's be realistic, Arry. That whole thing is going to take AT LEAST two chapters.

I'm never going to reach my quota at this rate. I gotta learn to pace myself.

Anywho, here's what was promised before my haitus from a year ago. I went all out. Er, as far out as I could given Bell's position anyways.

ON WITH THE SHOW!

*coughs blood*

* * *

The day started like any other. He woke up as soon as his stomach rumbled, stretched to work out the stiff muscles from sleeping on an old sofa, and went to the bathroom to do his morning routine. In the meantime, his goddess was tossing and turning, trying to wake herself up while falling back asleep in an awkward loop.

She was awake by the time he stepped out. She yawned, grumbled a few nothings, and wobbled into the bathroom for her business. While she did, Bell gathered his things. His backpack was always prepared the night before and it was stuffed with all the potions, bandages, and tools needed for Dungeon exploring. Stashed in the bottom was the Blade of Mercy.

He debated about what to wear today. The Crozzo set (which only consisted of the coat and not all the other pieces since he didn't purchase them) was in tatters. And the normal jacket he had was… _normal._ It didn't offer any extra protection; not even from the elements.

For the sake of today, he decided the Cainhurst Knight set was the best he could don. He had hoped against it. They were the most expensive set he owned. He didn't want to know how much it would cost him to repair them should anything happen.

"Good morning, Bell," Hestia greeted as she stepped out freshly washed. She blinked as she looked him over. "You're still not ready?"

"There's a lot to put on…" he said with a weak smile. He was only halfway done with the suit and struggling with the frills under his cuffs. While everything was beautifully detailed with embroidery and rich materials, every part of the suit was treasured for the Hunt. It might not be able to withstand some of the more ferocious of beasts or arcane blasts of the Kin, but it worked well against blades and bullets. It was a suit designed against dueling, which was exactly what he needed.

"Here, let me help," Hestia said and approached him. She assisted him with all the buttons and ornaments; pulling, straightening, and adjusting where it was needed. He was astounded she knew how to do all of this.

"There, all set," she said with a smile, standing back to observe her work. "You look like a really important person, Bell. But are you sure the ruff is needed?"

He didn't know what she was talking about until he followed her eyes. His hands reached up to tug on the frilly collar. "Is that what it's called? Eh, I'm not too sure. I put it on without realizing it."

"It completes the dress," she admitted. "But it doesn't suit you. You look uncomfortable. Not to mention you look like the Queen's pet with that thing on. Bend down so I can take it off."

He was almost against it; he had spent a lot of time figuring out how to put it on. But he listened to his goddess and leaned over. She reached up and pulled the ruff over his head. Afterwards, she straightened his hair with her fingertips and patted his shoulder in completion.

"Much better," she said.

"Thank you, goddess," he smiled back at her with relief. It felt like he could breathe again now that the silly thing was off. Looking at the mirror, the lack of the ruff wasn't a loss on the overall uniform. There was still the frilly tie and cuffs.

"Just one more thing," she said and stepped closer.

She wrapped her arms around him and pressed her face to his chest.

"G-Goddess?" he spoke softly to her in both shock at the sudden connection and a bit of worry for the action itself.

"I'm sorry I can't skip work to go watch, Bell," she said while holding him. "I've already used all my sick days. But I'll still be cheering you on."

Her words left him speechless. He felt the smile creep up and didn't try to hide it. He patted her head, just the way she claimed to love from him. She giggled lightly at his touch and buried her face deeper into him.

"Be sure to tell me all about it afterwards," she stepped away and gave him a thumbs-up. "Represent the Hestia name and go kick that flat board's dog's butt… is what I would like to say but let's be realistic here, Bell. You're still a newbie. It'll raise too many questions if you actually win. So… try to lose gracefully."

His smile felt like shattered glass. But this was the strategy they had agreed to. Though certain members of _Loki Familia_ were already aware of his abilities, the rest of them didn't and especially not the Guild. Should they come to light then questions would be raised.

There was a possibility the Guild would accuse Hestia of cheating. Without evidence to prove the existence of Yarhnam… nor any idea where to find the Doll to give testimony, _Hestia Familia_ would be in a lot of trouble.

"I'll be good, goddess," he nodded in slight disappointment.

Bete Loga. He knew this adventurer as the one who belittled him in the Benevolent Mistress. The one who laughed at Bell and believed he didn't belong in the Dungeon. Internally, Bell wanted to prove the man wrong. But there was no way someone who hadn't been an adventurer longer than three months could beat a veteran with years under his belt.

"Good luck, Bell!" she cheered him on and slapped his arm.

She tells him to lose but sends him off with a charm. Sometimes he can't understand his goddess…

He left the room without her— she still had to prepare a few things to start her day. He climbed the stairs and entered the main chamber.

His eyes immediately spotted something that didn't belong. There, placed on the altar of the church, was a rectangular box with all sorts of engraving on the lid. It looked… expensive. He approached it and leaned over to examine it.

He blinked. At the center of the lid was a gold insignia of the Cainhurst crest.

The door to the entrance creaked. His head snapped around and he reached for the Oedon Knife. There was nothing there.

"Hello?" he called out, stretching his senses and trying to find anyone or anything creeping around. He heard birds chirping on the rooftops, a cat wandering around outside, but beyond that there had been nothing.

This place was old. He could only assume the wind had blown against the door. It wouldn't be the first time this had happened.

Returning to the box, he grabbed it, noticing the weight of it, and brought it back down to the underground room.

"Goddess," he called out before entering. "I found this upstairs on the…"

He froze. His goddess froze.

While she had the top of her uniform on… she hadn't put on the skirt and had been in the middle of changing her panties. She was bent over with the garment around her knees. She had been facing away from him.

He had a full view of her posterior.

His eyes widened and his face burned.

Hestia mirrored his reaction.

"KYAAAAAAAA!"

They both screamed. Bell fled and shut the door while Hestia threw the pillow his way.

0-0-0

"I think it's safe to say they've stopped fighting," Riveria commented.

Gareth grunted, "Aye. An' it only took Ares seven times ta learn 'is lesson. The fool lost more'n half 'is army. Cain'urst hardly lost a quart'r."

The two leaders of _Loki Familia_ sat at the command tent, overlooking their hillside view of the plains that were being occupied by Rakia and Cainhurst. It had been twelve hours since the last skirmish and there seemed to be no signs of another one happening anytime soon. Cainhurst stopping in pouring salt on Rakia's wounds was probably the biggest part in it.

Orario had noticed and taken advantage of the peace. Vendors had opened shops by the roads and offered their goods to both armies. Most were shops consisting of healing and stamina potions along with weapon and armor outfitting. Also, marching up and down (and sometimes dragging victims) were some of the prostitutes of the Red District.

While Rakia was spending money because they had no hope of recovering on their own, Cainhurst was spending their riches both to show their wealth to Rakia as well as a sort of contest between their fellow nobles.

There was something the two noticed. While Cainhurst wasn't antagonizing the army entirely, their Knights would instigate things with Rakian soldiers. But, as much as it irritated Rakia, they never gave in to their pestering… almost as if they were too afraid to get into these private fights. It infuriated the Cainhurst Knights more than anything.

A number of times did they see Cainhurst Knights duel to the death with their peers. Or lash out brutally against their retainers. Nobody on any side tried to stop them.

"I don't think it was the loss of troops that convinced him," Riveria said. "We're missing something. Something must have happened when we weren't looking."

"Ya," Gareth crossed his arms. "Finn said the same thing. He said Ares was bein' hesitant since yester'noon. We noticed he called fur a retreat quicker than usual aft' that. An' now? Nuthin'."

"…I don't like it," she sighed with annoyance. "It's like watching a balloon slowly inflate. You know it's going to explode soon. I really don't want to have to fight over something so stupid."

Gareth grunted in agreement.

With Rakia no longer getting into skirmishes against Cainhurst, they noticed a shift in behavior in the aristocratic warriors. Where they gloated in their victories, they now were sour over the lack of conflict. It was as though an addict had been denied _Soma Familia_ wine. Cainhurst was irritated right now; they would soon turn to aggressive.

Which raised the question… why have they not attacked Rakia on their own? Why not launch an attack? Why must Rakia always strike first? This went beyond some code of conduct and excuse of self-defense, especially when they had instigated every skirmish so far.

Were they under the orders of their Queen to not attack unless in the name of defense? And the Cainhurst Knights had taken and twisted this order without disobeying it?

…What a bunch of children.

"Riveria," Gareth spoke up. "I've been meanin' ta talk to ya 'bout somethin'."

"It's about Finn, isn't it?" she already knew this conversation was going to be brought up at some point. It was the perfect time now that their captain and most of _Loki Familia_ were absent in light of today's events.

"What happened down in the Dungeon?" he asked while stroking his beard.

"It is everything Finn shared the first time," she answered plainly. Her eyes locked on Gareth before he could speak up. "However, what he neglected to share was _who_ it was who defeated that Hunter."

Gareth's brows furrowed, "Hoh? Y'mean it wasn't you or 'im?"

She shook her head, "Aiz and I were caught by surprise. Aiz sought to challenge the Monster Rex of that floor on her own. You know how she can be. It was then that Maria person arrived and fought us both. And yet… despite the monsters being present… it was as though they were assisting her. I've never seen it before."

She frowned further as she recalled the incident. She remembered seeing the monsters move as if to make room for the arrival of that Hunter. Even the Monster Rex shielded her after Maria was blasted away due to Riveria's _Ignis Fatuus_.

"Suppose she had some skill or item?" Gareth questioned.

"Who knows," Riveria shrugged it off. There was no use trying to assume anything without evidence. It will only lead to misdirection when it truly mattered. "In any case, the others were already a ways out of our reach. One of us would have been dead by the time they returned at their full speed."

"…So who was it?" Gareth muttered lowly. "Someone from _Freya Familia_ or _Ganeha Famlia_?"

She looked at him again, making sure she had his full attention. Gareth's expression was stony; he wasn't going to get distracted even if a fair maiden came with a tray of his favorite ale.

" _Hestia Familia_ ," she answered without blinking.

She didn't do jokes. He knew this. Still, he squinted at her as though she had attempted to do so. He had to blink a number of times for him to figure out she was being serious.

"…The Rabbit?" Gareth asked for assurance. At Riveria's nod, he scratched at his chin. "Nah. Can't be. Y'sure ya weren't just outta it? Ya did say that Hunter cut yur eyes."

"I may have been blind but I was well aware," she protested. "I am sure of it. The rest can attest to it. That boy, Bell Cranel, was the one who defeated Maria."

Gareth frowned further, "How?"

Riveria shook her head, "I don't know. I'm beginning to think the Good Hunter Cranel Finn mentioned and this boy are really one in the same. And if so… it raises the question where he came from and how he's so competent. It's possible… he has relations with Cainhurst one way or another."

Gareth nodded; he brushed his beard in thought. Loki had hammered onto them about the meeting with the Queen of Cainhurst— mostly how she learned Aiz Wallenstein was training the Little Rabbit behind her back. There was a comment somewhere mixed in how the queen was smitten with the boy, signifying there was some sort of history between them.

"Then he's no newbie," Gareth grunted. "That story with the Minotaur Aiz swears is true must be. It means Hestia be lyin' 'bout his stats to the Guild."

"There is a reason for it," Riveria gave a slow blink as something came to her. "Perhaps he came here to hide? Finn said something about Cranel killing his teammates. Perhaps he came to erase his trace and pretend to be a new adventurer."

"…It reminds me of the Crow," Gareth snorted. "Ya know he's still out there, some'ere. Murdered all them 'venturers an' two gods an' then… gone. Without a trace."

Riveria chose to not mention the boy's weapon of choice, the Crow's Blade of Mercy. A terrifying thought had crossed through her that the boy was really the Crow. But, from personal experience, she knew the boy's method of fighting were completely different from that heretic.

Either the Crow knew the boy and handed its weapon to him… or the Crow was truly dead and the boy had stumbled upon its treasure. She may never know nor did she care. The Crow hadn't been active in years and that's all that matters.

"Oi," Gareth lifted his head and looked at her, "if all o' this is true… what about Bete? Does he know?"

Riveria gave a long sigh, "The fool thinks the Rabbit is a pretender sharing the Cranel name. He wasn't there in the Dungeon with us."

"Hmph," Gareth snorted. "Typical Bete. Think he'll be alrigh'?"

Riveria didn't answer as she thought about it. Her eyes fell into half-lids as the scenario played in her mind. Specifically… she was recalling the training she was supposed to be 'chaperoning'. Between the boy getting knocked around to Aiz taking fatal wounds. She gave the two of them an earful and then washed her hands of it when she figured they weren't going to stop anytime soon.

She had found a gray hair this morning; no doubt yesterday's events had something to do with it.

"So long as Bete doesn't fight him seriously," she answered.

She wasn't convinced herself. There was a feeling in her gut. Bete believed Bell was a newbie and _shouldn't_ have to go all-out on him. Maybe smack him around to show his superiority, but not try to murder the boy out of some unseen spite.

She found her head looking towards the road leading back to Orario.

If she left now… would she make it in time to stop the match?

Gareth was looking at her.

"If he dies…" she gave another sigh, this time full of irritation. "It'll be his own damn fault. People _that stupid_ deserve to die. Bete knows this better than anyone else."

As she came to this conclusion and went back to observing the occupied planes, her consciousness was not in her work. Her fingers tapped against her staff in rhythm.

Bete wasn't her problem. She shouldn't have to go out of her way to save his sorry ass. It's too troubling to have to leave her post on something that might not happen. Bete had grown since his duel with Gareth all those years ago. He had matured… somewhat.

She didn't want to go. It was so far away and she'd have to push herself if she was going to make it in time. Ugh. The thought alone disgusted her.

"…Take over for me," she said and started to move.

Gareth snorted but didn't protest.

0-0-0

"Don't you think this is a bit much?" Tione asked as she looked around.

"I get we had this all planned but…" Tiona mirrored her sister. "Captain, did we really have to host it here in the Coliseum?"

"It was Loki's idea," Finn scratched his cheek. "She said she wanted a place where she could watch a lion eat its victim. Hence… _Ganesha Familia_ was kind of us to rent out the Coliseum."

The members of _Loki Familia_ looked up at the box seats, specifically in the occupied chair of their goddess chatting away at Freya.

"Whatever," Bete clicked his teeth in dismissal. "It's a lil' flashy for a private match. Don' know why so many rubber necks are here either."

It should be mentioned along with Loki and Freya, other gods had grown interested after hearing about it from those at the Benevolent Mistress when the challenge was issued. Word spread around and several others had wanted to watch the battle, expecting to see a slaughter. The stands weren't packed to the brim, but there were a good number of spectators.

While it wasn't enough to reimburse their cost of renting out the Coliseum, it had lessened the blow in their treasury.

The elite warriors of _Loki Familia_ were gathered in one of the tunnels that would lead to the center ring. It was a last-minute pep talk before the show.

"I'd imagine it's to scout out the potential of _Loki Familia_ as much as it is to watch a good show," Finn answered with his usual smile. "So try to not embarrass us, Bete."

"Oi!"

"Captain," Tione leaned over and whispered in his ear (though they could all hear her through the acoustics of the tunnel). "Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean… It's Bete we're talking about."

"Oi," Bete barked again.

"Yeah, he doesn't know the Rabbit like we do," Tiona crossed her arms behind her head and balanced on the balls of her feet. "What if Bete tries something that'll ruin him forever?"

"What kind of person do you think I am?!"

Finn nodded a few times before turning to Aiz, "What do you think? Any last words of advice to give Bete?"

All attention turned to Aiz.

The blonde _kenki_ bowed her head and thought hard. She had spent the most amount of time with Bell out of all of them, studying his tactics and fighting against him. She had seen him fight against Lady Maria as well as witnessing a few other incidents firsthand. She knew how to get around the Rabbit's defenses better than anyone.

Now… how to convey this information to her teammate…?

"Don't try to kill him," was her answer.

"C-Can you be a little more specific than that, Aizu?" Tiona pleaded.

"How can you be any more specific?" Bete gave her a blunt look. "Don't try to kill him. Relax, Aiz, I'm not gonna try anything like that. Loki told me exactly what she wanted to see and I don' plan on disappointin'. I'm only gonna teach him respect."

Aiz stared at him with a worried expression. He took it as she didn't believe him. Really, she was genuinely worried for her comrade. He didn't understand her message. But she didn't know how to voice out these concerns.

"…It was nice knowing you, Bete," Tione said.

"If Riveria doesn't beat me to it, I'll write 'IDIOT' on your tombstone," retorted Tiona.

"I said I wasn't going to try to kill the little twerp!" Bete bellowed.

"Don't worry, don't worry," Finn laughed lightly. "If anything gets out of hand, I'll shoot him with this."

He patted the curved sword strapped to his hip. It was his favorite weapon and one less than a handful of people in all of Orario had seen him use in battle. He only donned it for important raids down in the Dungeon. They had asked why he was wearing it for today and he gave a vague answer.

"You know what?" Bete threw up his hands and began to march away. "You can all go to hell! Just watch! I'm not going to kill him!"

"On that note," Finn turned to the opposite direction, "I better get to a high post to overlook the field just in case."

Bete barked a curse.

"I'll be off too then," Tione, always following her beloved captain, began to tail him. "Good luck Bete!"

Bete had exited the tunnel and entered the field. They could see him doing stretches while the crowd shouted cheers of encouragement and mockery.

"Should we go up too?" Tiona asked.

Aiz shook her head, "I want to watch down here."

"Y'know you can get a better look of your bunny boy from the stands," Tiona threw the comment to stir something out of Aiz.

And it did. Aiz raised her eyes in thought. But she eventually shook her head again and remained where she stood.

"Alright, alright," Tiona leaned against the wall. "We'll probably get crowded no matter where we sit. Down here in the dark and dank tunnel it is. Oh! Maybe you're planning on giving the Little Rabbit a victory smooch?"

Aiz turned her way. For a moment, Tiona thought she had gotten something unimaginable out of Aiz. But… she felt something. Alarms rang in her head.

In a flash, Aiz' sword was out of its sheath and jabbed at their flank.

The flat of a dagger attached to a katana met the tip of her sword with casual ease.

Both their eyes widened as Lady Maria watched them with cautious calculation.

"You…" Tiona moved away from the wall. She didn't have her weapon. But that didn't mean she couldn't throw down against the Hunter. "Aren't you supposed to be dead? We saw the Little Rabbit stab you before you disappeared!"

Aiz's eyes were burning with the same question.

Maria tucked her weapon back into its sheath but kept a hand on the grip at all times. "You sound surprised. Alas, what Bell Cranel fought, while myself in its entirety, would be better described as a phantom. The blow was critical, but I still breathe."

"What are you doing here?" Aiz asked in a low voice. She kept her weapon raised.

Maria regarded her for a moment before answering, "The same as you, I suppose. I am here to see how the Good Hunter fares. I heard from a passerby of today's festivities and decided to observe. You may relax; I have no intentions of partaking just as in Monterphilia."

They didn't relax. If anything, her words made them all the more cautious.

"What's your beef with the Little Rabbit?" Tiona demanded. "We all have our fair share of stalkers but you definitely outclass them."

"I have no reason to answer that," Maria retorted.

"I want to know," Aiz said.

She wanted to know so much it was driving her mad. Lady Maria had always fought against Aiz. They had fought three times; and in two of those times did Bell arrive with Lady Maria abandoning Aiz entirely and giving twice as much effort in fighting him. The woman was almost starving to match her blade against his. If her objective was to kill Aiz… why abandon it without hesitation whenever Bell showed up?

Maria studied her. The grip on her weapon loosened. It eventually came off as she raised her hand to adjust her tri-horned hat. Aiz didn't take the chance to strike.

"Is that jealousy, I hear?" Maria almost snickered with how light her tone became. "Do you fancy him after all those times he came to your rescue? Do not worry, fair damsel, I intend to kill you just as much as I desire to kill the Good Hunter. However… I am under orders to leave you be. The same cannot be said about Bell Cranel."

"…That doesn't answer my question," Aiz returned. Though, for a reason she couldn't understand, the words Maria used stirred uncomfortable feelings inside her. Even more strange, it wasn't the insult to her status… but what jabbed her was the comment about Bell.

"No, it doesn't," Maria's tone fell to one of dismissal. "If you are so curious, then why have you not asked about it from the Good Hunter? Has he not told you about all the blood on his hands?"

Her response got a stir out of both of them.

"Now, if you don't mind," Lady Maria began to move forward. "The show is about to start."

Aiz raised her sword and Tiona readied herself. But Maria made no move to attack them. She walked between them, even omitting an 'excuse me' as she brushed them by to reach the end of the tunnel. She didn't reach all the way, only stopping a few meders before the exit. This way, those in the stand close enough to recognize her wouldn't be able to see her. She was, after all, still a wanted criminal.

Tiona and Aiz shared a silent conversation. Tiona shook her head furiously, knowing Aiz was going to want to stay near the woman who had nearly offted her thrice. Aiz shook her head in reply, stating she was going to stay no matter what. Tiona glanced up the tunnel, where Finn and Tione had run off to and debated about getting their help. But she didn't want to leave Aiz alone.

Aiz gave her a reaffirming look. Tiona glared at her, puffed her cheeks, and gave in.

The two of them remained together. Maria gave them a sideways glance as they approached and kept as much distance as was possible on the opposite wall. None of them exchanged another word as Bell approached the center of the field to share some final words with Bete.

0-0-0

"This has become quite the spectacle," Freya commented as she watched the crowds grow. Had it been a sponsored event with more advertisement, she was sure vendors would have set up stalls outside and offer delights. Still, a fair number of citizens continued to pour out of the tunnels to fill the stands. Gods, adventurers, and the common folk.

"Eh, I'm sure yur kids would get this much attention," Loki waved a hand. "Probs an' perks of bein' on top."

"Yes, I suppose most of the appeal is being able to witness one of your best children give a live demonstration," Freya nodded back. "However, I really think the major selling-point is the one who accepted the challenge."

"Hah?" Loki gave her an odd look.

Freya smiled sweetly at her rival, "He's the only child of _Hestia Familia_ and hasn't been an adventurer for more than a few months. By all means there shouldn't be much of a show with the difference in power. And yet he accepted the challenge anyways. You know how much everyone loves a good underdog story."

"Too bad the Lil' Rabbit don't stand a chance," Loki snorted. "I told Bete ta make his life miserable. It's what he gets fur goin' after my Aizu."

Freya didn't offer a follow-up. Her smile remained though her eyes had softened. As spoiled and tainted as the boy became because of the Doll, she still had a soft spot for him. She still loved him. Though he could never be her perfect lover to embrace for all eternity, she still wanted to hold him and offer sweet nothings.

She wanted him to grow, to overcome this disability of the Doll's corrosion. He will still join her peerage in the end.

And she will make that Doll pay for what had been wronged of her.

"Lady Loki," a Nameless Adventurer approached from the entrance of the box office. He had an unpleasant look on his face. "I apologize and have tried to remove them. But a messenger from Cainhurst has arrived and is rather… determined to deliver this to you. They're awaiting a response."

Loki groaned and swiped the letter out of his hand.

"What does it say?" Freya asked.

"A whole lotta fancy jargon but Lil' Miss Prissy wants us ta either join her or she join us fur the match," Loki answered in a sour tone. "Honestly, thinkin' she's as important as us gods. That Marius kid wasn't 'xageratin'."

"Shall I deny them?" asked the adventurer.

"I see no harm in it," Freya offered her opinion. "I'm actually curious to hear what the Queen has to say. I think everything will be fine so long as she leaves her guard dog behind."

Loki groaned like a child being forced into a chore. She sat up straight and adjusted her clothing to be more presentable for her status. "Fine, fine! Go an' bring 'er."

The adventurer looked as displeased as his patron goddess, but he was a good servant who bowed and went off to do as told.

"You could have said no," Freya began. "This is your private seat. I'm only here as your guest."

Loki already knew this. She didn't have to listen to Freya's suggestion at all. "Ya. But somethin's been botherin' me. It's like an annoyin' bug bite ya wanna itch but know it'll get worse."

"Then perhaps you shouldn't give in to this temptation."

"Sometimes ya can't help it," Loki grumbled lowly.

Soon after, the curtain was drawn back by the Nameless Adventurer for the Cainhurst Queen. As promised, she was not in company of the High Chamberlain. She was dressed in another extravagant dress, though this one designed for leisure instead of formality, and she continued to wear a strip of silk over her eyes.

"Goddesses," the queen gave a curtsey. "Thou grace us with this honor."

"Ya can skip all that formal junk," Loki waved a hand with a blunt look. "Just come in already an' take yur seat."

The queen did not give any sort of reaction to Loki's crassness. She approached the row of seats and flawlessly glided down onto the velvet cushion besides Freya.

"How do you fair, Queen Annalise?" Freya offered a friendly smile. "Can we get you any refreshments for the event?"

"Thank you, Goddess Freya," her return was light but not necessarily friendly. "We are pleased enough with this arrangement. I favored to speaketh with the benefactor of this festivity."

"So… whatcha want?" Loki gave the queen a sideways glance.

Annalise smiled, "Very well; straight to the point. We doth desire to make a wager. Dost thou fair to gamble?"

"Hah?!" Loki turned to fully look at her. "Hold on there. Ya sayin' ya wanna bet _against_ me and my child? Ya must be outta yur mind. Orario is completely different from Cainhurst. Bete is a Level Five and about to hit the next stage. The Lil' Rabbit is a newb— a scrub— cannon fodder! Bete is gonna eat him alive!"

Annalise raised her hand to cover the smile growing on her lips, "Such bold claim, Goddess Loki. We claim otherwise. We believe the Good Hunter shalst be victorious."

Loki's eyes narrowed at the queen. "Good Hunter. That's twice ya called 'im that. Do ya mean to say all them Hunters come from Cainhurst?"

Annalise's expression shifted, "Nay, Goddess Loki. Cainhurst hosts no Hunters. Hunters hath not existed since before we aroseth to power but a century ago. They are an autonomous unit from the old world."

It was impossible to lie to a god. Annalise was telling the truth, or at least what she personally believed to be the truth.

The information conflicted with what Freya had gathered on her own.

…She will need to speak with Hermes once more. And make sure he hadn't tried to hide anything this time.

"Pardon me," Freya spoke up. "But if the Hunters are extinct, why do you refer to Hestia's child as 'Good Hunter' then?"

"One might say he is the last of his kind," Annalise answered with her smile returning.

How interesting. Annalise wasn't aware of the group of Hunters who had infiltrated Orario. Freya wasn't sure if she could use this information or not.

"Whole lotta good that does 'im," Loki bickered. Her posture became lax as she assumed something on her own. "Kid's just a rookie in the end who took some hero's name. Couldn't even stand against a Minotaur attack til' my Aizu showed up! Don' matter if he's been to Cainhurst or fought those Rakia chumps; his flopping proves how much of a newb he is."

"We hath heard otherwise," Annalise's smile turned to teasing. "We hath heard tale he rescued Dame Wallenstein against the culprit of Monsterphilia—"

"That's not what happened!" Loki slammed her hands on the armrest and was on the edge of her seat. "My Aizu weakened her! The kid showed up and couldn't even last a full minute against her! His weapon shattered after a few blows and he got the stuffin' kicked outta him!"

Freya had seen the entire incident and could argue otherwise. But she chose to remain silent.

"T'would seem words shan't convince thee," Annalise shook her head. "Let today's duel prove otherwise. So confident is my faith in our husband doth we wager the Cainhurst High Chamberlain, prize of Cainhurst and equal to one of thine Level Six adventurers."

Even Freya raised a brow at the audacity of the wager. Did the queen have the authority to hand over another child of Cainhurst without the consent of their god? Or… did their unknown god already sanction this?

"…If ya think I'm gonna offer one'a my kids, think again," Loki growled.

"T'was never our desire, Goddess Loki," Annalise's tone turned almost playful. "In our tour of thine city, we eyed a most splendid piece of estate."

"…Ya want me to buy you a house?" Loki gave her a flat look. "Yur not a citizen of Orario. The only reason why ya can come an' go through that gate is cuz yur here fur political reasons. I don' think the Guild will let'cha even keep it as a vacay spot."

"Thou will purchase it and delivereth the deed to _Hestia Familia_ ," Annalise answered matter-of-factly. "We shalst remain there as guests under their care until our business with Rakia dost conclude."

"I dunno what's worse…" Loki grumbled darkly, "Ya suckerin' me to buying Itty Bitty a house or the fact I'm robbin' ya of one of yur teammates."

"If thou still wishes to decline," Annalise's smile dropped, "Cainhurst will reimburse thou for the purchase. We still desire private residency and grow weary of the camps."

"Tell ya what," Loki snorted. "When I win, I'll buy ya the house anyways. Only cuz I'm gonna feel sorry fur takin' such a strong adventurer."

"Then we are in agreement," Annalise relaxed in her seat. "The wager hath been promised."

"And I'm here to witness it," Freya spoke with a somewhat excited voice. "Loki, I'm going to make sure you keep your end of the bargain."

"Do ya really need ta?" Loki snorted.

"But if I may ask," Freya ignored her friend to turn towards Annalise. "What exactly gives you this much confidence? Enough to wager your strongest fighter and lose your biggest advantage over Rakia?"

"Seeth for thineself," Annalise nudged her head towards the ring in reply.

Both goddesses looked. The crowd came alive as Bell Cranel entered the ring, jarred by the sudden crowds but pushed forward by the one with him by his back.

Freya watched as Syr gave him words of encouragement and went to take a front-row seat.

Should she punish that girl for getting close to her treasure… or compliment her for having adequate taste?

What Annalise was gesturing at wasn't Bell's attire— though he was dressed in those flashy Cainhurst reds all of her Knights donned. What she was gesturing at was the boon the queen had obviously given him. To increase his chances in victory, Bell wore at his hip…

"Cainhurst weapons," Freya breathed out. Her astonishment eventually turned into amusement at both the instigation, the scandal, and the presentation. It was a display to prove the queen was supporting Bell in every way, to back up her claim to spouse him. At the same time, it could be said Bell was representing Cainhurst… or was at least the queen's puppet.

Freya's eyes narrowed. Though the boy was nervous with stage fright, he never once lowered his guard. He had a hand on the hilt of his weapon.

Freya watched him a little closer as he approached the center where Bete awaited.

"Oi, what is this?" Loki demanded.

"I doth believe it to be… encouragement, Goddess Loki," Annalise's tone was coy. "Surely thou'st not believe the future King of Cainhurst duel without appropriate arms. Let alone below his finest."

Loki blew raspberries, "Whateva. Don' matter what fancy-schmancy tool ya give him. Even give him a Crozzo sword for all I care! Bete's still gonna smack him around! Oi! Bete! Show that Rabbit what it means to mess with _Loki Familia_!"

As Loki shouted with her body ready to fall over the railings, Bete Loga looked her way. He had his hands on his hips and grumbled something masked by all the noise of the stadium.

On another note… Bete would have probably lost if anyone— newbie or veteran— used a Crozzo magic sword against him.

"It'll at least make the match a little more interesting," Freya mentioned. "I was worried it would be droll. Now I know… it'll be something to always remember."

She smiled. She couldn't contain her excitement.

The boy had sensed it. He looked away from Bete to meet her gaze.

Her heart swayed in love, in affection, and in woe. He would be absolutely beautiful if he hadn't been corrupted.

"Ya got that," Loki cackled at Freya's words. "No one'll forget."

Freya let out a single chortle of amusement. If only the trickster goddess knew…

0-0-0

Bell was receiving plenty of stares as he made his way through North-Main. Perhaps it was the gold-encrusted sword strapped to his waist. Perhaps it was the fine silk of the Cainhurst Knight set.

…Or perhaps it was because of the red mark that may or may not resemble a handprint on his face that had yet to fade away.

Either way, he ignored the stares as he went on his way towards his destination, trying to forget the events of this morning so he could focus for today. He knew next to nothing about Bete Loga; he hadn't even thought about asking Aiz for advice on how to fight him. But, like anything else he faced during the Hunt, the best he could do was adapt to whatever was going to be thrown at him. For that, he needed this brisk early morning walk to get focused.

"Morning Syr," he waved as he passed by the Benevolent Mistress.

"Good morning, Bell!" the maid sang back with a bright smile that rivaled the sun.

He didn't know why… but he had expected to get yelled at. Was the past few experiences with Syr Flover really that dreadful? He had to double-take and walk backwards until he stood in front of the tavern-turned-café.

Syr was smiling at him. She wasn't dressed in her maid uniform but in a modest light blue dress. Seeing her like this made him gawk. She really did look lovely no matter what she wore.

At the same time, she was studying him. Her eyes traced from the bottom of his boots all the way up to his eyes. Her eyes were shimmering with approval.

"Bell…" her voice was soft with a hint of red rising to her cheeks. "You look very dashing. I'm impressed."

The compliment made his cheeks burn and bow his head. He couldn't look at her in the eye. "T-Thank you. You also look nice. Are you not working today, Syr?"

"Today's a special occasion," she answered with a playful tone. "I'm off to go support my favorite adventurer on his big day."

"Really?" he looked up at her. "Who's that?"

She paused at the question. She giggled, climbed down the steps to meet him, and poked at his nose, "You, silly."

"O-Oh," was all he could say as he was reduced to a blushing mess. The act made her giggle some more.

There was an awkward silence between them. Awkward for him anyways. Syr was staring at him as though expecting something.

"Listen, Syr," he looked up with a determined expression. He was trying his hardest to not trip on his tongue. "A-About yesterday—"

He did anyways.

She stopped him, placing a finger to his lips while keeping her warm smile. "It's okay. You can give me a proper response afterwards. For now, just worry about today, okay? I don't want to be a burden to you."

He nodded. He had a large confliction of emotions; there were plenty of things he wanted to tell her and things he wanted to confirm. But she was right. He couldn't afford to fret over these things. He had to put them to the back of his mind else have them distract him at the worst possible moment.

"Just hurry up nyand kiss nyalready!" one of the maids shouted from within the tavern.

For a split second, Bell saw all of the staff of the Benevolent Mistress leap away from the window and doorway. There came a loud clutter of noise of tables and chairs being knocked over.

Syr's head was turned away from Bell with her hand curled over her lips. Her face was burning just as brightly as his.

"I'm sorry about Anya," Lyu stepped out of the building with a basket in her hands. "Had I known she would interrupt we would have gagged her. Here is everything you might need, Syr."

…She didn't deny she and the staff had been shamelessly eavesdropping on their conversation.

"Thank you, Lyu," Syr turned and smiled brightly as she accepted the basket. Though her face was still burning.

"Here," Bell stepped up and took it from her. "I can carry that for you. But… what's in here? Are… Are we going on a picnic afterwards?"

The idea of going to a local park and having lunch under a tree sounded delightful, especially with a cute girl like Syr. It was one of the many fantasies his grandfather had implanted into his skull. As soon as lunch was over would the man take a nap on the girl's lap. Bell wasn't sure if he could muster up the courage to try it with Syr but he was going to try and make his grandfather proud!

"That does sound like a good idea…" Syr's smile turned weak. "But inside are a couple of bandages, needle and thread, and healing potions. Things just in case today becomes a little… hectic. You _are_ facing someone from _Loki Familia_ after all, Bell."

He almost sighed. He should have known. Everyone still thought he was a rookie and wouldn't be able to stand up against a veteran like Bete.

Not that they're wrong. He was intending to lose.

"Mister Cranel," Lyu spoke up with a sharp tone. Her eyes fell to his weapon of choice, narrowing with disproval. "Are you capable of using those instruments?"

In the box he found this morning were a number of Cainhurst weapons. The first was the pistol, Evelyn. The second was the rapier-firearm, the Reiterpallasch. And the third was the sabre-katana, the Chikage.

The Reiterpallasch was strapped at his hip while the Evelyn was hidden beneath his cloak. As for the Chikage… he left it behind. He didn't want to use such a weapon nor could he claim to be able to use it to its full potential. While his dexterity was high enough to use it as a sword at the master's level… he wasn't confident enough to use its hidden ability as a Trick Weapon. Enough so it would harm him more than help.

"I haven't had much practice with it," he said while tapping his sword. Rather, he hadn't had _any_ practice with it. "But it's good to have aside from my knife. It gives me more options and range. Besides… it's not like I can use Eileen's weapon for today."

Lyu gave a slow blink in acceptance. "I see. Be careful, Mister Cranel. Don't give yourself to the bloodlust… else Eileen might have a word with you."

He felt his heart skip a beat. He understood the meaning behind those words.

"I won't," he said with solidity. "I remember the promise I made to Eileen. I won't ever become like the thing that… beat her."

The monster that was the Bloody Crow of Cainhurst— a Hunter who had donned the Cainhurst Royal Guard armor and held the cape belonging to the Hunter of Hunters just like Eileen. She had tried to kill it, only for it to be too big of a task and left her bleeding to death.

"That's all I can ask for," Lyu said simply. "You best be off. Good luck, Mister Cranel."

"Thank you," he said and bowed with appreciation.

"Good luck, nya!" Anya— no, it was the other cat-person— Chloe, stuck her head out of the window and waved at him. "We're closing tonight just for nyou! We're gonna celebrate even if nyou are knocked nyout all day!"

Wait. They were going to throw him a party _even if_ the battle left him unconscious?! Were they just using him as an excuse to skip out on work?!

Was this what happens while Mama Mia was away. As scary as she was… he wished she could return soon and straighten out these maids. They were starting to become rebellious without her authority.

"Shall we be off?" Syr asked, circling around to his other side and latching herself onto his arm.

He blushed at their contact. Without a word (since he couldn't trust his tongue) they began to make their way up the street. Briefly, he wondered how the two of them looked. Did he look like one of the heroes of the _Oratoria_ storybook escorting the fair maiden to her destination?

"Bell, is something wrong?"

Her destination… hold on a minute.

"A-Actually…" he broke out into cold sweat. "They… They never told me where I'm supposed to go. Do I go to the Twilight House? Do I go to the Guild?"

He had completely forgotten about the duel until Welf mentioned it yesterday. He didn't get the chance to ask Aiz since their training had ended before running into the blacksmith. He had no idea where this duel was taking place.

Syr was laughing at his side. "I shouldn't be surprised you missed such an important detail. You're the sort to run around like a squirrel when something troubles you. Luckily for you, I just happened to hear where it's being held. I'll lead you."

As she tugged on his arm, her words rang inside his head. Did she just call him a squirrel?! Was that what she saw in him? Y-Yeah, he may have dine and dashed too many times; the first because of Bete's words and the second because he was afraid of Eileen's wrath in losing the Blade of Mercy. But he always came back!

The third time didn't count. He saw Welf pay before dashing out of the tavern.

"Now Bell, before we get there," Syr looked at him with her sweet smile. "Care to explain that slap mark on your cheek? Did you happen to take a peek at your goddess' breasts _again_?"

There was something dangerous in her tone. He also noticed how the grip on his arm tightened.

0-0-0

"I would have thought the yard of the Twilight House was enough!" he blurted out.

The Nameless Loki Member leading he and Syr through the Coliseum tunnels craned his neck over his shoulder to respond dryly, "Why would we host something so important so near our home? Loga-sama is one of our best. Ever since Tiona-sama destroyed the western wing, all duels involving _Loki Familia_ members are to happen elsewhere. The public wanted to watch your match after it was announced at some rundown tavern—"

"Excuse me?" Syr's voice was as sharp and cold as steel.

The Nameless adventurer didn't notice and continued, "Thus, _Ganesha Familia_ was kind enough to let us rent this facility. It gives us appropriate enough space to minimalize collateral damage as well as appease to the populace wishing to attend. Not that I expect much from a fellow Nameless."

"His _name_ is Bell Cranel and he's going to mop the floor with your _Nameless_ whatever fighting today," Syr protested with a mouth breathing fire.

"That's Bete Loga-sama," the adventurer snapped viciously. "Do not insult his position, Nameless Love Interest… S. You're not even an A."

Syr gasped with grave insult, "My name is Syr! I'll have you know it's not a designation! And I will not allow someone like Anya to get anywhere near close to Bell."

"Syr… I think it's fine," Bell pleaded with her. She looked ready to attack this man. Yeah, he wanted to slug him too but there was no need to lose his cool over something like this. He didn't want to cause any problems while behind enemy lines.

Plus… he had no idea what they were talking about.

"He said some things I can't forgive, Bell," Syr said through puffed cheeks.

"Maybe," he nodded with agreement. "But you should just let it go. I get stuff like this all the time as a newbie. There's not much I can do to change his opinion."

Syr huffed with annoyance but said nothing further.

The man led them towards the route leading to the entrance of the ground level. Bell could hear the small choir of people. It was a dull noise, nowhere near as loud as he had heard from Monsterphilia.

But as soon as he stepped out did the crowds begin to roar. The bottom half of the stadium had been filled with people and gods. A decent third of the private seats above were occupied. Everyone here was present to witness his fight.

It left him buckling where he stood.

"Bell," Syr turned to him with a fierce look in her eyes. "That man said something unforgiveable. He insulted the bar. I want you to crush him and his _familia_. If you win… I won't charge you for the party we're throwing."

Bell scratched his head, "D-Don't worry Syr. I'll do my best to— EH?! W-Wait. You were going to charge me?!"

"Of course," she said plainly. "We're closing at our busiest time. That's a whole lot of profit we're losing out on. Mama Mia will be furious at us. But… I might be able to convince her it was for a worthy cause if you win. Do it for me? Please?"

He struggled to find the balance in his dilemma. He was trying to figure out how expensive such a party would be versus the fees the Guild would slap on him for 'cheating'. He already spent a small fortune for his own expenses at the tavern. He can't imagine how much it would cost to feed all the other maids that worked there.

"Good luck, Bell!" Syr cheered him on while he was lost in thought. She gave him a smile, pressed herself against his arm one last time… and pecked his cheek with a kiss.

Taking the basket from his hands, she skipped away to the nearest steps leading to the stands.

He was left dazed by that kiss. He hadn't expected it. It almost snapped him out of his anxiety over the crowds. Almost.

He gulped, gripped the Reiterpallasch more for comfort than assurance, and continued to pace forward. The crowds continued to cheer (or mock) as he approached the center.

There stood another adventurer not of _Loki Familia,_ who bore a completely different crest… and Bete Loga.

"At least you didn't run off," Bete said with some mild approval. He eyed Bell and his attire briefly. "You should have. Nothing personal, rookie. But you gotta understand… you don't belong here. You're not cut out to be an adventurer. I'll be knocking that sense into you as much as I need to."

Bell gulped. Those words weren't made in arrogance. Bete was almost apologetic. He was following his own beliefs and was going to carry them out to make a point. He truly believed Bell wasn't qualified as an adventurer and was going to prove it.

So… that was the true intention of today's duel. That whole bit about wanting to teach Bell and instruct him had been a farce. Bete really just wanted to shove his face into the mud.

It angered Bell. Something boiled in his chest as he tightened the hilt of his sword.

He knew he wasn't the best adventurer. He knew he was still a rookie. But _he_ was going to be the one to say what he was and wasn't, not someone else.

Bete had insulted him.

"You might be right," Bell said.

It got Bete to raise a brow.

"I might not be an adventurer. But I know I'm the best Hunter. That's all I need to be better than you."

This time, Bete's brows furrowed with irritation. While he had been passive about Bell, he had taken exception to those words just as much as Bell had been insulted.

"If you two are done…" the adventurer aside them spoke up. She was a beauty only a few years older than them with cerulean hair and a pair of glasses. She stepped back and announced through a booming voice, "Ladies and gentlemen. I am Asfi Al Andromeda of _Hermes Familia_. I am the referee of today's match to give fair judgment as a third party.

"The duel today is between Bete Loga of _Loki Familia_ and Bell Cranel of _Hestia Familia_. Both will engage in combat until one is rendered unable to fight. There are no restrictions in this match other than the prohibition of fatal attacks. I have authority to interject at any moment. As of this moment, all bets are closed. Are both contestants ready?"

Bets? He didn't want to think what the odds were against him. He could probably buy a mansion in the upper district with those earnings, no doubt.

"I'm ready," Bete said and entered a battle stance. He crouched low, almost on all fours.

Bell took a few steps back as he read everything in Bete's stance. He withdrew the Reiterpallasch, pointed its tip at Bete, and turned sideways with one hand behind his back… gripping the Evelyn hidden underneath.

"I'm ready," Bell said as his emotions began to wash away. Nothing else mattered. There were no distractions. His mind had fallen into a habit determined by the Hunt.

He knew Asfi was studying him carefully, analyzing his posture just as much as he was overlooking Bete.

"Begin!" she brought her arm down in signal and leapt away several meders in a single bound.

Bete launched off the ground but not directly at Bell in a linear leap. He leaped high into the air, arching and spinning to shift his center of gravity. When he reached his peak, he brought his heel around to slam onto Bell's shoulder.

Bell's eyes widened slightly. He should have worn the Crozzo set instead.

The weapon of choice Bete wore were the grieves. They were reinforced with Mithril, some sort of gem plating around it, and humming dimly with magic. Bete was going to maximize his agility, dexterity, and properties as a lycanthrope through his kicks.

…The Cainhurst Knight set, while provided excellent protection against blades and bullets, was useless against blunt attacks.

He may as well have been wearing his casual clothes.

He didn't try to meet or deflect this attack. He _Quickened_ away, turning into mist and ash and feeling the gust created by Bete's kick just before moving a full meder away.

Bete's boot slammed into the ground and created a small puff of dirt. The older boy paused, somewhat surprised by Bell's sudden quickness. He spat out with annoyance and launched himself again, this time bringing his leg around horizontally rather than vertically.

Bell _Quickened_ away again, drawing the same amount of distance. However, he didn't have a chance to breathe as Bete anticipated this and followed him. He brought a few round of kicks in a practiced combo. Bell could read through all of them and dodged them normally. It wasn't until the end of the combo that would have lopped off his head did he _Quicken_ away.

He didn't need to use the spell. Really, he had a flash of Aiz kicking in his skull at that moment and reacted unintentionally.

…Had she been secretly training him for this moment? Was she really knocking him unconscious just so he could develop a defense for Bete's fighting style?

The actual answer was no. But he would never learn.

"Alright, fine," Bete planted both feet onto the ground and growled. "I thought about goin' easy on ya. Maybe break only a bone or two. But if you can dodge like that… let's up the game."

Bell's eyes widened as Bete's speed _jumped_.

He only had an instant to activate _Quickening_ and dodge the next attack. The tip of his boot nearly missed his ear— Bell heard the whistle as though a bug had buzzed celches away from him. He narrowly missed a crippling blow.

It didn't end as Bete turned this single strike into a row of kicks at the same speed. Bell was forced to use his _Quickening_ endlessly. Even when he moved away from Bete did the wolfman pursue him and keep up. He was moving just as fast as when Bell used _Quickening_!

Eventually, he couldn't keep dodging.

Bell had no choice but to bring up the Reiterpallasch in a hasty defense. Bete's kick slammed into the side of the blade and launched Bell off his feet. His world shook as he lost his sense of direction and rolled uncontrollably across the floor. But his sense of danger rose and took control of his body; he bounced back to his feet and dug his heels as he slid to a stop, ready to move before his mind could register which direction danger was coming from.

Bete hadn't expected him to get up so soon, it would seem. His face scowled further. Accepting Bell's durability and reaction, he launched himself forward for another onslaught.

Bell _Quickened_ to the side.

But Bete altered his trajectory and met Bell's flank.

Had he already learned of Bell's habits?!

The older boy grabbed onto Bell's cape, tugged to yank him off balance, and brought his knee into Bell's back. It slammed against his kidney.

Bell released the Evelyn as he fell to his knees, gripping at the screaming piece of his body. Still he moved, rolling to the side and jumping back to his feet. He faced Bete and raised his weapon, even as he was disoriented by the pain.

Had he brought the Blade of Mercy, the Trick Weapon would have been tucked there and would have cushioned the blow. It could have potentially backfired on Bete considering he held no armor on his knee. Alas, he didn't and this was his fault.

"Do you feel that, Tomato Boy?" Bete cocked his head back.

Tomato Boy. Anger surged through Bell at the memory of that name.

"Have you ever been in a raid where every part of your body has been broken?" Bete continued on. "What you're feeling now is nothing compared to what _real_ adventurers go through. Face it; you're not cut out for this line of work. When you're at death's door, your true self comes out. And you know what you're true self is?

"A coward.

"When that Minotaur showed itself, what did you do? You cowered. You screamed. You cried and begged. Someone had to save your sorry ass. You'd have been dead if Aiz were a few steps behind.

"You don't deserve to be here. This isn't your life. There's no way you can ever become our equal. Run on home and I'll—"

"I have," Bell growled. His hands clutched at his side and the grip of his weapon. He bit through the pain, stood straight, and brought his hand back around to grip on the hilt of the Evelyn.

"…What was that?" Bete growled back.

"I have broken every part in a raid," Bell's voice slowly rose. "I cried and I screamed but _never_ did I cower. If I hesitated, I would have died. If I hid, my friends would have died in my place. If this is what it means to be an adventurer… I'm overqualified."

Bete gave him a flat look. He growled something under his breath as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Alright," he said with finality. "You won't understand unless I point it out to you."

Bete came at him again. But this time, something was different.

The hard look in Bete's eyes told Bell everything. The older boy had forsaken mercy. He was no longer going to hold back. He was going to assault Bell with all his might to prove his point, all just to prove Bell did not deserve to be called an adventurer.

He was no longer aiming to subdue. He was going to critically cripple Bell, potentially kill.

In the next instance, after a flurry of movement and sparks, the tip of the Reiterpallasch stabbed into Bete's shoulder.

"Argh?!" the lycanthrope shouted in more surprise than pain.

Bell pressed forward, digging the blade deeper. He spoke lowly, the closeness of the two allowed his voice to be heard by Bete alone.

"My name is Bell Cranel. And today, just for you, I will join the Hunt."

0-0-0

Something was horribly, horribly wrong. Bete couldn't understand it.

He could understand the Little Rabbit being able to dodge his attacks to a par. He had heard about the few training sessions with Aiz. However short they may have been, the Rabbit seemed to pick up a few things here and there. And then there was the unique skill of his that let him warp around the field like mist.

Those both had limitations when Bete upped his game. When he put a little more effort into his strikes, the Rabbit was pushed into a corner. There was no way he could defend himself. That was the natural order of things.

So then… why did all of a sudden did it feel like Bete was against a Monster Rex?

What the hell was this? Hax? Was there some kind of enchantment on those Cainhurst garments? Was it a magic embedded in the sword? Or did the kid's goddess do something to his stats somehow?

Even on his off-day, Bete should not have been able to take a wound like that.

Rather than think about it rationally… it only pissed him off.

He was determined now more than ever to teach the Little Rabbit a lesson. The world wasn't such a forgiving and charitable place. It wasn't going to grant him everything he wanted. Just because people like Aiz were going to coddle him didn't mean the rest of the world was going to.

He needed to beat into the brat the natural order of things. Only those who have truly earned their power through grit and loss can boast, fight, and defend. _That_ was the dark secret to the best adventurers. Bete had lost everything before he could learn this lesson.

And yet… this newbie was defying this logic.

The Rabbit's eyes turned crazed. Wide and full of intent. Bloodlust.

Every action in his movements was no longer to avoid Bete's attacks. They were made to get around them to prepare for his next attack.

For the second time, that annoying rapier stabbed into Bete at the waist.

How?!

"Fuck off you little punk!" Bete roared and doubled his efforts.

The Rabbit's expression didn't change. His face was more liken to a porcelain mask devoid of any emotion. Only his eyes blazed with murderous intent. He hardly blinked as Bete launched a flurry of kicks that would have pressed his other teammates.

It was like fighting Gareth all over again. But… that was so long ago and Bete had grown since then. So why was there such a difference in their levels?

There wasn't, he argued. This was still just a newbie. There wasn't anything special about him. It had hardly been a month since the Minotaur incident. It was impossible for anyone to grow this much in such a short amount of time. Even Aiz, who holds the record of fastest growth, took _years_ to reach Bete's level.

He couldn't understand this impossibility.

Instead of acknowledging it, he pushed himself further.

The boy dodged most of his attacks. Most. Some were unavoidable; yet he would roll his body along with the direction of his kicks to lessen the damage and recover just as quickly as Bete could initiate his next move.

He finally brought his arm to the front; and with it was the weapon he had been hiding. It was one of those Hunter weapons that breathed fire and shot balls of hot metal. He had seen it before.

So he had no problem knowing when to dodge when the boy pulled the trigger. The idiot. While the weapon could deal some serious harm even with his stats, it was pointless if all Bete had to do was anticipate the direction of the projectile. All he had to do was see where the weapon was pointing.

The other problem with those weapons was the fact they needed to be reloaded. A second, maybe two. Not like Bete was going to give him that chance anyways.

His eyes widened. It hadn't been a full second since Bell fired his shot. He adjusted the grip of his rapier as he used that speed enhancement spell to rush Bete.

Bete watched as the blade snapped in two and folded in half. Hidden beneath the blade was a tube not unlike the smaller weapon.

Bell tossed the projectile weapon aside while his hand reached behind his back. All the while rushing towards Bete and raising his altered rapier.

He brought it around in a slashing motion rather than a stab. The change in tactics threw Bete off slightly but his instincts kicked in. He brought his leg around to deflect the rapier, creating sparks between blade and grieve. Keeping his momentum, he continued to spin and deliver another kick before the boy could bring his rapier around for another strike.

He realized his mistake before too late.

Bell only needed to flick his wrist to adjust the positioning of the rapier. He squeezed the handle.

A loud bang equal to the projectile he tossed aside rang throughout the stadium. Bete felt the sting of a hornet and the slamming of a hammer into his thigh. He swore aloud as he lost his balance and his attack being halted in its tracks.

Bell flicked his arm around. There was a click heard within his rapier. He pointed its tip at Bete again.

The rapier can fire multiple shots?!

Another blast erupted and Bete was struck at the chest. The projectile didn't penetrate his skin but he knew it would bruise horribly. It was like taking Gareth's warhammer all over again. If repeated, it could break bones and rupture his organs.

What infuriated him more… it wasn't even the Rabbit's skill or stats. It was all from that weapon.

"YOU'RE NOTHING WITHOUT THAT TOY!" Bete roared as he launched himself forward. He needed to get in close and negate the effectiveness of that weapon.

The Rabbit fired another shot. Bete anticipated it and dodged. He would need a full second to reload and another to aim. Bete wasn't going to give him this chance.

Rather than do what Bete expected, Bell lowered his weapon and rushed forward to meet him. His other hand lashed out with a black blade being unsheathed under his coat.

Bete jumped and brought his heel up to break in Bell's face. The speed was too much for any adventurer to take on. Only his superiors had a chance of dodging and only if they anticipated his attack.

Bell did not use dodging spell. At the last instance, faster than a blink, he leaned to the side while planting his feet on the ground. Bete would continue to fly forward on his own velocity.

All the while, Bell raised the black blade, nothing more than a simple combat knife, up at his eye level.

With this aim and this speed… Bete was going to run into it. It was going to tear into his neck.

His eyes widened as he realized he brought about his own death.

The eyes of the Rabbit, no, of Bell Cranel remained absolute in his decision. He knew what he was doing. His expression had never once changed. He had no hesitation or doubt.

He had no problem killing Bete.

A flash of silver; a screech of howling wind; pain at his neck.

Bete finished his leap, skidded across the dirt pavement, and reached immediately up towards his neck in a panic. He had expected blood to be pouring out through a cut artery. But there was no warm liquid coating his hands. When he pulled his hand back, he only saw small droplets of blood from a small cut.

Did Bell withdraw his blade at the last second?

No.

Bete's salvation came from a silver arrow planted in the middle of the field. It had been fired at the perfect time with the perfect aim to deflect Bell's knife. The angle of its implant pointed towards the stands.

Bete looked up. At the highest wall, overlooking everything in the Coliseum, stood the blonde prum that was his captain. In his hand was a silver bow— something Bete had never seen his captain wield before.

He saw the captain sigh with relief, flicked the wrist holding the bow, and watched in amazement as the bow transformed into the curved sword Finn had on his person before. He smiled down at Bete and raised a hand in apology. Not because he had saved Bete's life but because…

Bell's emotionless face glanced down at the arrow. His eyes widened with recognition as his head snapped back at the captain. Emotion returned as his head snapped from Finn to the arrow, back and forward.

He recognized the captain's weapon, even when Bete had never seen it transform after years of comradery.

"T-That!" he heard Asfi cry out. She was startled, nearly frenzied. But the Perseus of _Hermes Familia_ was a collective person. She only needed a moment to regain her bearings. She looked up at Finn once more for clarity.

In the distance, Finn nodded gravely.

Asfi raised her hand, drawing the attention of the silent crowds, "Match set! Bete Loga is disqualified for interference from _Loki Familia_. The winner is… Bell Cranel of _Hestia Familia_!"

Even she could hardly believe her own words when she brought her arm down to point at the Rabbit.

"Haaaaaaaaaaa…" aforementioned Rabbit nearly croaked. His legs wobbled until he sank to his knees. He dropped his weapons, planted both palms onto the floor, and retched everything in his stomach from nerves and adrenaline. And… if Bete could tell, there was a hint of fear as if he realized he had done something he wasn't supposed to.

The crowds were silent in shock. The only sound being made was a single pair of hands clapping in applause. Those from the Cainhurst Queen.

Bete turned and began to limp towards his side of the ring. He didn't realize how badly he was injured until the rush of battle was complete. His body was in agony— not as much as his worst moments but… definitely more than it should have been by a rookie.

No. Not a rookie. He definitely wasn't what he was supposed to be.

Bell Cranel was a monster in disguise.

It was only when Bete was halfway out of the field did the crowds come alive with cheer and outrage. They all couldn't believe the Rabbit had won, for both positive and negative reasons. Some swore it was because of his weapons, some swore because he was some sort of hero to all rookies, some because Bete was going easy, and some because Bell had cheated somehow.

 _"Please do not disrespect Good Hunter Cranel."_

 _"Try to not kill him."_

 _"Today, just for you, I will join the Hunt."_

Something was horribly, horribly wrong indeed.

And his captain knew all about it. The man had been keeping secrets from him, as well as the rest of _Loki Familia_.

Bete was going to learn everything about these Hunters one way or another.


	16. Chapter 16

**A note from the author!**

Couple things. First, regarding the usage of "meder" as a measurement. I assure you this isn't a spelling error. This was intentional.

Follow me here. In the light novels, Orario has its own set of measurements... though they're parallel with ours. "Meders" are meters, "Celch" are centimeters, and "Kylos" or "Kyloms" are kilometers. I've been using their versions since very early in the story and have switched over to using the imperial system (inches, feet, yards) when in the perspective of the Hunters. I will admit it was my fault for not sharing this information in the narrative of the story. I was under the assumption people could pick up I was using an alternative measuring system after repeated use of the word "celch".

Now, in regards to this chapter... it's long. 16k words long. Part of it is because it's the remaining third of the previous chapter as well as the entirety of an average chapter. Even though his chapter is technically half of the next one.

Last, and definitely not least, more fanart! Thank you Oslight for this next piece! He was more than kind enough to draw the fight between Bell and Bete. The link will be posted following this chapter's upload.

Seriously dude, you rock. Why you choose to draw epic things of this story I don't know. Whatever I'm doing seems to be working. So huzzah!

Now then, ON WITH THE SHOW!

* * *

"Cheers!" everyone raised their mugs and brought them together with several other's.

True to their word, the maids of the Benevolent Mistress closed up shop as soon as the café hours were done. A post had been erected in front of the swinging doors with a sign reading the establishment was closed for a private party and 'sorry for the inconvenience'… followed by a caricature of a bowing Anya in the corner.

 _A lot_ of adventurers were dejected by this. The Benevolent Mistress was a popular tavern on North-Main— on the largest and primary street that led to the Dungeon entrance. Many adventurers would unwind after a grueling day slaying monsters here. They had no choice but to go elsewhere.

Bell was glowing with both excitement… and a bit of bashfulness. He had long changed out of the Cainhurst suits and dressed into his more civil clothing. Today's celebration was in his honor. It was hard to believe the place he frequented on occasion would be doing this for him. And yet, as he looked around, all of the maids were smiling at him.

"You should relax and just accept it, Bell," Welf said at his side. "I think you more than anyone deserves a day like this."

Bell's profile brightened a little more. He understood the underlining context of Welf's words.

"Oh," purred the lady accompanying Welf, Tsubaki Collbrande of _Hephaestus Familia_. "So _this_ is the guy you're always talking about, Wolfy. He's almost as cute as Finn. Hey, Good Hunter, can I give you a hug?"

"Bwah?!" Bell sputtered and turned crimson.

Immediately, hands latched onto him and dragged him away from Tsubaki. He felt several soft pillows press all over his body. Hestia, Syr, and Lilly were holding onto him while glaring at Tsubaki.

Rather than take offense, Tsubaki barked out a few rounds of laughter, "The Little Rabbit has more game than y'do, _Wolfy_!"

"Take a look again, Tsubaki," Welf muttered as he brought his ale up for a second. "It's more like he's surrounded by bloodthirsty beasts fighting over, oh I don't know, _a Little Rabbit_."

Tsubaki looked again. Her impression of Bell shifted. The girls who were trying to protect him from her were now fighting over him. And the boy had no idea what to do in this situation. "Y'know… you might have oversold him."

"He's the best damn Hunter I've ever come across," Welf argued. But then he shrugged, "That doesn't mean his social skills are up to par."

"Ah," was all Tsubaki said as she lifted her head in complete understanding.

"Yahoo~" Tiona called out as soon as she entered the tavern. "Sorry we're late! I hope there's some food left. I'm starving!"

Walking at her side was Aiz. Her eyes met with Bell's immediately and she offered a wave of greeting in her stoic fashion.

Bell smiled back and offered his own wave.

The girls noticed and more petty drama ensued. Syr used her crocodile tears, Hestia tried to smother him, and Lilly tried to belittle both of them. All the while, Bell tried to reach out for Welf to pull him out of the fire. And Welf kept drinking his ale as he watched.

Tsubaki laughed without restraints.

Once things had settled down and the party could be enjoyed, the main celebratory group gathered at the largest table while some of the maids served at a leisurely pace. And by leisurely… it meant hardly at all other than to refill their drinks. Piles of food were placed at the center of the table for anyone to reach for their own. The rest of the maids were gossiping away in their own corners.

"Are you sure it's okay to be closing just for me?" Bell asked Syr, who had won a private game with her other rivals to sit at his side.

"It was agreed by everyone, Bell," she answered. "Think of it as us paying you back for all your repeated service. Oh! There's also the fact you proved that oaf wrong and returned the honor of the Benevolent Mistress."

"What was this about?" Lyu asked, who sat beside her friend.

"Some no-name _Loki_ goon mocked the tavern," Syr answered with a sour tone. "No offense, Miss Wallenstein and Miss Hiryute. I know he doesn't speak for your entire _familia_ but some things can't be forgiven. That's why I had Bell win! Isn't that right, Bell?"

She turned her head towards him with a sing-song voice. And yet, why did he feel doom if he didn't answer correctly?

"Y-Yes…" he answered with a weak smile. He couldn't tell her the real reasons for beating Bete.

As soon as he said this, he felt the glares of his goddess and Supporter. Welf and Tsubaki were also judging him; the former with disappointment and the latter with mild amusement. It felt like he was out of the frying pan and into the fire.

"Ah, I see," Lyu nodded a few times. "You did well, Mister Cranel. Thank you for upholding the honor of this establishment. I trust Mama Mia will understand why tonight's celebrations are without coin."

"Oh yeah," Tiona interjected. "Where is Mia? I haven't seen her in a while."

"Mama Mia was asked to return to her _familia_ for something urgent," Syr answered with a slightly melancholy tone. She did her best to keep her smile. "I don't know the full details. She only told us once everything is settled will she be back. 'So don' go an' turn the place upside-down!'"

She finished with her best impression of the barkeep. It got a few laughs out of the people who knew Mama Mia well enough.

"Eh, what _familia_ does Miss Mia come from?" Bell asked out of curiosity.

"She never told us," Syr answered readily. "She would always avoid the question by telling us if we had time to ask questions then we had time to work. Although, it's not like it's a secret. You could look it up at the Guild if you really wanted to know."

He nodded. He wouldn't do anything like that. If Mama Mia didn't want anybody to know then he would respect her wishes.

"So I heard the match today was a real riot," Welf spoke up. "Sorry I couldn't make it, Bell. I had… a long night— erk!"

Tsubaki was not subtle with the way she elbowed his gut, followed by the flat glare.

"T-That's not what I meant!" he groaned, clutching at his ribs with one hand.

"It's not polite to brag, Wolfy," she grumbled and took a long swig of her ale. And then she took his mug and downed it.

"Everything okay, Welf?" Bell asked.

Welf grumbled something under his breath before answering, "Just… a lot of work and some business with my _familia_. Sweaty, grueling work. Hammering red hot metal into what I want. Oh, and a misfire explosion that accidentally— DAMMIT TSUBAKI! I'm being literal here! What do you think I'm talking about?!"

She had jabbed at him again. Her glower had hardened as she looked away from him, even going as far as to cross her arms and puff her cheeks.

It was at this moment did Bell realize… Welf and this Tsubaki person were a thing. He looked up to Welf even further.

"The match today was totally expected," Tiona jumped in with excitement. "Nobody thought the Bunny Boy was gonna win! Everyone thought Bete was going to cream him, even Bete and Loki! Eh… it started to look that way but then all of a sudden Bete got a little too full of himself and WHAM! Bunny Boy won."

"…There's more to it," Aiz's soft voice was heard.

She had the authority and right to sit at Bell's other side. When he took his seat and it was argued who was going to be at his side, Aiz joined him without a word. And none could argue against the Sword Princess.

"You know…" Syr raised her eyes as she recalled the fight. "I was there and even I find it hard to follow. Mister Loga _was_ winning as far as I could tell. And then all of a sudden Bell was keeping up with him. It was hard to tell what was going on… but then all of a sudden an arrow nearly took out Bell's head! It came from Mister Deimne. Bete was disqualified for it."

Is that how Syr interpreted it? Well, she wasn't an adventurer. She was a common girl who worked as a maid. She shouldn't be able to read into battles.

But on another thought… that arrow. It was fashioned out of Quicksilver, the same as the bullets used in hi firearms. And he had seen the weapon Finn Deimne used— it was the weapon Simon used back in the Hunter's Nightmare.

It meant… Finn had to have come in contact with Simon to acquire the Bowblade, just as Bell had received Eileen's spare Blade of Mercy. He needed to find a way to meet with Finn privately and ask him about it, and maybe reach out to Simon as well.

…Hopefully Simon wasn't a notorious criminal deep in hiding like Eileen.

"So what really happened?" Hestia asked for anyone to clarify. Of course, she said this while staring at Bell. "I heard a lot of things today at my stall. A lot of strangers walked up to congratulate me. Some of them were rude. Others gave genuine praise."

He hadn't forgotten they intended on him losing to hide his potential. There was going to be hell to pay _when_ the Guild came knocking on his door.

"I really think it was because of his dodging skill and those Cainhurst weapons," Syr answered. "At least, that's what everyone's saying. Bell wouldn't have stood a chance without them."

"Oh, I see," Hestia nodded. "A lot of those creeps were calling my Bell a cheat. I kinda don't blame them. It would have been the same if you handed him a magic sword, Mister Crozzo."

"Welf is just fine, goddess," Welf returned.

"How polite! Then you can just call me Hestia. I'm friends with your goddess after all."

"Yeah, Bete wasn't all too happy about the turnout," Tiona muttered. "Neither was Loki for that matter. Boy was she swearing up a storm. Apparently she and the Cainhurst Queen had some kind of bet and now Loki has to pay up. She's been ranting all day, saying the match was rigged with how the queen gave you those weapons."

"Nobody thinks Bell won on his own merit?" Welf asked incredulously.

"There are some," Tiona pointed at him. "Yeah. They either think Bunny Boy is some miracle child or a cheat who's been hiding his stats. But the popular belief is Bete got too full of himself, made a few mistakes, and Bell surprised him. Most of it is hidden in a cloud because everyone's pissed Bete got disqualified by the captain."

"W-Why's that?" Bell asked.

"Bets," Aiz answered plainly. She cocked her head to the side when everyone expected more out of her. "Everyone thought Bete would win. They lost money."

"Well, what'dya know…" Welf mumbled. "There might be a chance the Guild won't bite off your ass, Good Hunter."

For probably being in the same boat as him, Welf understood what the implications of this match meant.

"Lilly would riot too if money was involved," the prum agreed. "But Lilly would have bet on Master Bell anyways. Lilly couldn't make it to the match either. Unlike Mister Welf and his vulgar reasons, Lilly had a proper excuse. Lilly had to finish matters with the landlord of Lilly's new residency."

"Bite me, Lil'E," Welf growled and reached for his mug. He growled further when he forgot Tsubaki had finished it. And the maids hadn't refilled anyone's drinks for a while.

Seeing this, Lyu excused herself from the table to fulfill this noble deed.

"You found a new place, Lilly?" Bell peaked over the mountain of food to get a glimpse of her. He could only see her eyes with how small she was.

"Lilly did under a reasonable price," she answered between proud and smug. "If Master Bell ever wants to move out of that cruddy church, Lilly has a spare futon just for him."

"Do not slander our love nest, imp," Hestia bit. "It's small and cozy and _free_. Plus Bell has all the company he could ever need."

"Lilly has no problem spending her own shares on the rent," the Supporter's smug smile rose. "It's Lilly's job as Master Bell's Supporter to carry his burdens."

"Um…" Bell scratched his cheek. "Thank you Lilly but I'd feel bad if I didn't contribute somehow. Plus I don't want to leave my goddess by herself. Do you know if the landlord has any other places available?"

Hestia beamed in victory while Lilly groaned in defeat.

"You're looking for a new place?" Aiz asked.

Bell had a weak smile as he answered, "Y-Yeah. The goddess and I live in the lower district. We've been looking for a better place for a while. It's difficult finding a place we can afford, maintain with just us two, and in a reasonable spot. All the good places seem to be taken."

"That must be difficult," Aiz returned. "I wouldn't know. I've lived in the Twilight House since coming to Orario."

He tried to hold back his tears. Aiz Wallenstein was truly a top-tier adventurer if she was able to stay in such a mansion when starting out. All Bell could do was stay at questionable inns until he ran out of money and Hestia (literally) picked him off the streets.

"Neh, Bell," Tiona leaned forward with her elbow propped on the table. "Really tell us. How did you manage to beat Bete? Did those Cainhurst weapons really have that kind of kick?"

He wasn't sure how he was supposed to take her question. She knew what he was capable of. She had seen him defeat Lady Maria down in the Dungeon and had sat through an entire day of training with Aiz. If he could wound Aiz (which still made him green at the memory) then he would have equal challenge against Bete.

"The Evelyn is the favored firearm of Cainhurst Knights," Welf answered when he noticed Bell pause. "It's named after a maiden from an old Cainhurst story; I wouldn't be able to tell you about her. Its effective range is ten to twelve meders, which makes it superior to your standard flintlock that is only effective at ten meders max. Rather than for fighting monsters, it was designed for dueling against another Cainhurst Knight.

"See, the Knights would hold these challenges and point their weapons twenty paces away from the other. Getting the bullet to land is only a triviality. The real secret of the Evelyn comes from the Knight's bloodtinge stat. The deeper they are bathed in blood, the more firepower the Evelyn kicks. Therefore, the Knight who deals more damage to their opponent is the real victor, even if both die in the process."

"That's barbaric," Syr looked a little ashen with a hand close to her mouth.

"…Bloodtinge?" Aiz asked.

Welf blinked at her question and then ran a hand through his hair. He had been so engrossed in answering the question he had let some details of the other world slip. He didn't know how to answer her question. Bell didn't know how to explain a Hunter's bloodtinge stat either, so he couldn't fault him.

"Hey wait a minute," Tiona stood up. "How do you know so much about Cainhurst weapons?"

His answer was to reach for the inside of his kimono and draw out a pistol of his own. Bell knew it wasn't the standard Hunter flintlocks and definitely not an Evelyn. It was a unique design. Fully drawn, Welf turned his wrist to show everyone before placing it on the table.

All the while, Tsubaki was watching him carefully.

"You can say I'm a huge fan of their work," Welf said with a toothy grin, completely regaining his composure now that he was back in his element. He went back to Bell. "So, Bell, I know they're a gift and all but I'm willing to buy those weapons off of ya. Name your price and I'll get you the money even if it'll cost me an arm."

"You can't even feed yourself and you're making such a deal?" Tsubaki poked at his cheek.

"I-I can't sell them!" Bell shook his head. "I'm sorry, Welf. They were a gift from Annalise and I don't want to offend her by doing that. But… if you want to take a look at them I don't mind that. Just promise me you won't break them?"

"Don't worry I can reassemble them as soon as I figure out how they were made," Welf said with a feral grin of confidence.

It _didn't_ make Bell feel confident. He was glad to have left those weapons back at the Church. He feared for their non-existent lives.

Meanwhile, Tiona reached over to grab Welf's gun to examine it. Without looking at her did he slap her hand aside and pocket the instrument. She huffed in her seat.

"As far as I know," he went on. "The Reiterpallasch isn't made from any special materials. I've only seen one before and it was a long time ago, so Cainhurst could have made some upgrades by then. Basically, it acts as both a straight-edge rapier for piercing and can transform into a bayonetted rifle. It's range should theoretically be slightly more effective than the Evelyn. It should still have the same Cainhurst secret boon inside it."

"Bell," Aiz glanced at him. "What is bloodtinge?"

He scratched his head. Despite Welf's attempt to dodge the question, Aiz wasn't willing to let it go. Now he had to figure out how to answer.

…Or not.

"Hey!" someone barked from the entrance and stormed in. "What gives?! I risked my life down in the Dungeon and wanted to release some stress with some booze. So why are you closed?!"

It was an older man of an adventurer. Behind him were a few others of his teammates. They all had annoyed looks as they entered the tavern with complete disregard. Some of them took up the unoccupied tables against the wall.

"Sir," Syr stood up from the table. "The tavern is closed for a private reservation. We are sorry for the inconvenience but you will have to return tomorrow if you want a drink."

"Who the hell is so special ya need'ta close the entire place?" the man demanded as he approached. "Been comin' here for years and _never_ did Mia shut down the place for nothin'. So who… hoh?"

As he approached the table, he eyed its occupants. He recognized some of the more formidable and famous adventurers such as Tiona, Aiz, and even Tsubaki. He ignored everyone else without care. But his eyes landed and remained on Bell.

"The rookie?" he snarled. "I see. So that's how it is. Y'know, ya robbed me a lot of money today with that bullshit. I thought something was fishy when Diemne threw that shot. Now I get it. You and _Loki Familia_ was in on it all along. There's no way a little shit like you could have—"

"Didn't you say you were down in the Dungeon?" Welf snorted. "You sound like you were there to watch the entire thing."

"What was that?!" the man growled.

"You're so full of shit you're leaking, old man," Welf snapped back. "You're bothering us. Just go away before you do something you'll regret."

"Fighting in the Benevolent Mistress is strictly prohibited," Lyu said once she came back with a tray full of mugs for everyone at the table. Her eyes were sharp as she stared directly at the adventurer. "We are closed for tonight. You are disturbing our esteemed guests. If you do not remove yourself from the premises, I will make you."

"Now see here!" the man roared. "We came here to get a drink and that's what we're gonna get!"

Lyu's eyes hardened as she made her decision.

"H-Hold on!" Bell leapt off his seat as soon as he saw Lyu's expression. He saw that once— back when he first ran into Lilly. She was about to kill that adventurer in the alley if he didn't flee. "This is kinda my fault. D-Do you think we can give them at least one drink? I'll even pay for it. Will you be fine with that, mister?"

Rather than see reason, Bell's words seemed to aggravate the man even more.

"I don't need your pity you little shit!"

He went to draw his weapon and took a step towards Bell. He meant to assault him.

Every adventurer was out of their seat in an instant. The ones with Bell were much faster than the ones the nameless adventurer had brought in. And yet… they weren't as fast as _him_.

The adventurer stood frozen. His mouth agape and all anger replaced with cold terror in an instant. It wasn't the cold steel of the Chikage biting into the skin of his neck. Nor was it the hand reaching over from behind to stop him from drawing his sword. It was the miasma of something indescribable to the normal senses. It was something only someone who had seen death could recognize— something any adventurer knew intimately.

The Cainhurst High Chamberlain forced the adventurer's sword back into its sheath. With eyes still watching him, he stepped back, removed his Chikage, and sheathed the weapon in a fluid motion. He did all this without making a sound. It was as though he were never there.

No one had seen him enter. Not even Bell. It took someone with as much skill as Lady Maria or Gehrman to be able to do this. Plus… with the amount of bloodlust radiating out of the High Chamberlain…

He hadn't felt this amount of fear since—

The sound of mugs hitting the floor stirred everyone out of this trance.

Lyu stared at the Chamberlain with wide eyes. Her hands were still extended as though still cradling the tray that had slipped through her grip. She was petrified where she stood.

The Chamberlain regarded her for a moment. Something unknown flashed in his eyes. Without a word, he squeezed his hand on the adventurer's shoulder in a final warning, dipped his head in respect towards Bell, and stepped out of the tavern as quietly as he entered. The only noise he made was the eerie creak of the swinging doors.

"S…Shit…" the adventurer swore in a small voice. "Shit, shit, shit!"

His anger was gradually returning to cover for his fear. But rather than take it out on Bell, he had learned his lesson. He ran straight out of the tavern. His teammates followed right after him.

"Bunny Boy…" Tiona broke the tension as she sank back into her chair. "You have some scary friends. What magic words did you use to catch a foreign queen?"

He didn't answer. His eyes were locked on the door. His hands were curled into fists. He was reaching for weapons he didn't have on him. A pistol. A hacksaw. A sword. None of those things he had used since the paleblood moon shone during the Hunt. _Something_ about the Chamberlain was triggering a deep instinct in him. Muscle memory and phantom pain. And yet… he could not recall having ever met the Chamberlain before.

His attention then went to Lyu. The elf looked as stoic as ever as she worked to clean up the mess. Syr was there to assist her. While Syr looked worried for her friend, Lyu was as normal as could be. She looked unfazed.

He almost missed her shaking hands as she carried the tray back to the bar.

Sensing his gaze, her eyes flicked up towards him. He didn't avert his gaze; curiosity and concern had him silently asking her something. She blinked slowly; when she opened her eyes again were they downcast and busy with her work. She gave nothing for him to read.

"Did Lilly miss something?" the prum asked aloud. "Why does it feel like Master Bell went on another misadventure while Lilly wasn't looking? Master Bell, please tell Lilly you didn't do something brash and gave Lilly more competition."

"You have _no_ idea," Hestia grumbled. "It all started when Wallenwhatshername held my Bell hostage. And while she wasn't looking, Cainhurst showed up and snatched him out of her clutches!"

She then began to give a horrendously abridged version of what happened a few days ago. It was so obscure he didn't know where to start to correct her. He should probably just stop her before she could slander his name as much as Aiz Wallenstein's.

She was making him out to be the damsel in distress!

"Yeah, so what's the deal between you two?" Tiona asked. "How do you know the queen of Cainhurst so well? You're not _really_ her betrothed, are you? Wait! No! Don't tell me! You're secretly a prince of Cainhurst and you ran away from home!"

"It's not like that at all!" he blurted out. He had the attention of almost everyone in the tavern. The maids who had fallen back into gossiping stopped to listen on this topic. Even Aiz was staring at him intently; she moved a piece of hair away from her ear to enhance her hearing so to not miss a single detail.

"Then what's the story?" Tiona stole Syr's seat and pressed herself against Bell. The contact made him blush and lean away. When Tiona pressed further, he pulled himself away. "Were you some commoner back in Cainhurst? Did she sneak out and run into you, and you hid her while her guards looked for her? Did you two share something special as you tossed around in the hay? What is it?"

Eventually, he was leaning against Aiz with Tiona all over him. The Sword Princess didn't seem to mind. She continued to stare at him, expecting to hear an explanation.

He shot a glance at Welf, his final hope.

Welf shrugged.

He was on his own for this one!

"I-I saved her life!" he blurted out.

Tiona's eyes twinkled with delight. She leaned a little off of him, but not enough to remove herself completely from him.

Though… she sensed something was wrong quickly. His mood had changed.

As soon as he blurted that out did he recall everything that happened. It was the truth, or something liken to it. He didn't know if he really saved Annalise in his journey. But what he remembered about it all… was how it started.

"I told my friend about Cainhurst," he began. "He seemed to know a lot about them. I gave him the invitation that let me in whenever I wanted. He answered my questions but… he used my invitation to get to the queen. He meant to kill her. We fought and I…"

He remembered shoving the Blade of Mercy into his heart. He remembered being sprayed in the blood of Alfred. Alfred, who had been one of the Hunters he trusted. Alfred, who assisted him through the Hunt and had his back when they were surrounded by beasts.

And for what? It wasn't to save Annalise. It wasn't even out of revenge after seeing what Alfred had done to her. When it came down to it… she really had nothing to do about it.

It was all because of a misunderstanding. He thought Alfred gave in to the bloodlust. Alfred thought he was a Vileblood. They both tried to kill the other for their own beliefs.

"Oh," Tiona said as she moved off of Bell. She had her answer and she wouldn't press any further.

"I'll admit," Tsubaki spoke up, "it sounds romantic. Coming in to save the queen from an assassination attempt. Even if it was your fault to begin with."

"Tsubaki," Welf raised his voice in a warning tone.

"I'm not calling you a liar, Bell Cranel," Tsubaki waved him off. "But if that were the case, the queen would be smitten by every one of her guardsmen. How many times do you think her Chamberlain saved her life? Now, the queen doesn't seem like the sort to fancy multiple men. So, really, how did you manage to completely enrapture her?"

"I think that's enough," Lyu returned with a new tray of mugs. She slammed Tsubaki's down hard enough to make a splash. "We are not here to pester Mister Cranel about a sensitive affair. You are upsetting him and if you continue I'll have to ask you to leave."

"I-I'm fine, Lyu," Bell put up his hands. "Really."

She gave him a look that made him shrink back into himself.

"You know what?" Tsubaki cracked a smile. "You're right. I came here to party. It's none of my business anyways. Here's to you, Bell Cranel. Tonight I'll drink in your name until Wolfy is as pretty as you."

"…You trying to say something, Cyclops?" Welf muttered.

"Please don't," Syr said as she went around helping Lyu with her own tray of mugs. "We are paying for this out of our own expenses. The amount of ale you'll need will put the Benevolent Mistress out of business."

"Oi!" Welf flushed. "Bell, your girlfriend is trying to start a fight with me."

"Girlfriend?" Hestia snapped her head around as if she had just heard a bag of valis drop.

"Mister Crozzo, please," Syr gushed at his words. "I can't fight you. You'd have to have a chance of winning to call it a fight."

Welf cocked his head back and broke out into laughter. He brought his hand to his brow while nudging at Tsubaki as if she didn't hear.

"Don't just drop a bomb like that and ignore me!" Hestia rose her voice. "What do you mean by girlfriend? Bell! What does he mean?!"

"Yes, Bell," Syr squeezed herself through the gap between him and Tiona. She leaned in with her beatific smile until they were celches away from each other, much to the further ire of Hestia. "Am I your girlfriend?"

His affair with the queen was second compared to Syr's inquiry. The maids were staring at him with wide and hungry eyes. Not just them; everyone else at the table was looking at him with mixed expressions. Tiona looked irritated, Hestia and Lilly looked aghast, Welf and Tsubaki looked amused, and Aiz…

The one who drove him to become the best adventurer was hardly looking his way. Aiz was staring into her mug with a troubled expression. She brought a hand to her chest.

Maybe she was having indigestion?

Either way, a part of him was hurt she had no reaction at all to Syr's approach. He had fantasized she would be scandalized about it and fight Syr for him. But, he knew, that wasn't the way of Aiz Wallenstein. It's been said she never had an interest in anything other than adventuring by multiple sources, including and especially from her teammates.

Now, Aiz's lack of reaction was just a distraction to him. A half-second passed.

He felt the eyes of the entire tavern upon him. It was as if he was back in the Pthumerian Tombs, surrounded by beasts and had run out of Blood Vials. One wrong move would have them tearing him to shreds. He had to respond. And if he hesitated… he would die.

"Syr…" he gulped. His heart was hammering. The blood rushed to his face. He could feel his cheeks heat up.

"Yes?" she breathed out.

Being this close to her was intoxicating. She smelled so nice. It was making his head spin.

He failed to notice how Welf and Tsubaki restrained both Hestia and Lilly from interrupting this moment.

Bell matched her gaze and came to a decision. "Would… Would you like to go on that picnic?"

He was shaking. He had done it! He had asked Syr out on a date! Now all he had to do was brace for impact as she gave her reply.

She smiled sweetly at him and nodded, "I would like that very much. It's a date, Bell."

"FINALLY!" one of the maids shouted. The rest cheered, gave the two compliments, wished them well, or criticized Bell on taking too long to ask Syr out.

Tiona returned to her original seat, allowing Syr to sit next to him. He was a blushing mess as he couldn't look at Syr in the eye. Whenever he could, his nerves got the better of him and all he could do was smile at her before quickly looking away. She smiled back… and he missed the blush from her at every chance. He noticed how she had scooted a little closer to his side.

"I've gotta say," Tsubaki cackled as she took a long drink from her mug. "Everything's been exciting whenever you're involved, Good Hunter."

"T-Thank you?" he wasn't sure how to respond.

"This isn't over," Lilly said with spite to Syr. "Lilly will not lose."

"I accept your challenge," Syr said with a confident smile. She took it a step further by leaning against Bell's shoulder.

Lilly was grinding her teeth.

"I swear," Welf gave an exaggerated sigh, "it's almost as if all you ladies have some kind of interest in Bell."

"Y-You stay out of this!" Lilly shouted with a heated face.

"You've done enough damage, blacksmith!" Hestia shouted.

"You were in on this all along, weren't you?" Tiona accused through narrowed eyes.

Bell was watching all of their reactions with fascination. The words Welf shared with him yesterday rang in the back of his mind.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Welf replied cooly and with a smirk. "Anyways, congratulations on your success, waitress. Sorry about everything yesterday."

"Oh Mister Crozzo," Syr was giggling, "you already apologized. Besides, it was just the push I needed. I might have been waiting forever for Bell to make the first move."

"IT WAS YOU?!" Hestia shrieked at Welf.

"Why are you getting so upset?" Welf questioned, keeping the same smirk. "Shouldn't you as his goddess be happy he's found someone special?"

"I-I am!" Hestia blurted, though averted her eyes from him. "I-It's just… it's so sudden! Bell is still a growing adventurer! He doesn't have time to go on dates these days."

"…You mean like the one you forced him into last night?" Welf pointed out.

Hestia flinched at her logic being untangled.

"Where's the harm in it?" Tsubaki cackled. "Bell is a man! An impressive and capable man, at that. He's allowed to have a lover or two. Or… three, four— six! It's not like having multiples is frowned upon here. Hell, I might have a go at it. Just look at him! He's so adorable I'll be taking him home with me."

"Okay, pull it back a little Tsubaki," Welf patted her arm.

"Please do not put such thoughts in Mister Cranel's head," Lyu intervened as she finally took her seat. She gave the two from _Hephaestus Familia_ a flat look. "Only the most base of brutes would pursue to court numerous women."

"Hey, hey, hey," Welf leaned forward. His brows furrowed. "I happen to be one of those most base of brutes."

"My point exactly."

"I believe anyone should be allowed to pursue multiple lovers under the right conditions," he pressed with a serious expression. "One, the guy isn't a sleaze-ball who tries to hide it from the other girls. Two, he's gotta get the consent of everyone involved. And three, he doesn't pick favorites, is respectable, and loves everyone to his fullest. I always put Hephaestus and Tsubaki above everything else but never over the other."

Tsubaki looked away with her cheeks reddening. She nudged Welf with her elbow and grumbled something under her breath.

"That's also assuming Bell is the type of person who wants a harem," Syr spoke up before Welf could continue or Lyu could argue further. She raised a finger to make her point, " _And_ if I'm the type of girl willing to share."

Her words made Lyu relax and enjoy her drink.

"…Sorry Bell," Welf groaned as he ran a hand through his hair. "And girls. I tried."

"You weren't helping," Lilly spat.

"I'm not even sure what you were trying to do…" Bell commented.

Heads turned as soon as the Sword Princess stood. Being surprised by everyone's reactions, Aiz looked around the table and blinked a few times.

"Ah, I'm leaving," she explained. "We must report to Finn. We are on duty tonight outside the wall."

"Ehhhhhhhhh," Tiona threw herself onto the table with a suddenly exhausted look. "What're you talking about, Aizu? The captain gave us the night off to…"

Aiz stared at her partner with her doll-like expression. She was trying to tell her partner something through the stare alone. Nobody could guess what it is.

"You're right, you're right," Tiona said with a slight frown. She stood as well and offered Bell a smile, "Sorry about dinin' and dashing, Bunny Boy. I know that's your thing and all so sorry about stealing your thunder."

"Is that what everyone thinks I am?!" he shrieked.

"We're gonna be busy tomorrow so you don't need to worry about training," Tiona went on. She winked and stuck her tongue out on him. "Have fun and don't do anything I wouldn't! See ya around!"

"O-Okay," he nodded. "Have a good night! Y-You too, Aiz."

Despite everything between them, he still couldn't talk to her as casually as he could with Welf or Lilly. He always stuttered because his heart fluttered whenever he looked at her.

Aiz stopped following her partner towards the door. A hand went up to her chest as she bowed her head. She didn't look his way.

"…Bye," she said lowly; he almost missed it.

And then they were gone.

"So Bell," Hestia perked up as soon as Aiz was gone. "Can you give us a play-by-play of the match today? I want to hear the details!"

"Lilly wants to hear about it too!" the prum raised her hand.

"Oh, I'd love to hear it from your perspective," Syr nodded her head a few times. "What was going on inside your mind when you were up against an elite like Mister Loga?"

"I'm curious to know in what way those Cainhurst weapons did you good," Lyu said with less enthusiasm and more loath.

Bell scratched the back of his head. But he indulged them.

0-0-0

"How much of today went according to plan?" Riveria demanded with a stony tone.

"I'm not sure I know what you mean," Finn countered with his usual smile.

"Finn, enough," she breathed out, reaching the limits of her patience. "You've been hiding things from us. You have been acting differently ever since the Hunters attacked us in the Dungeon. And instead of preparing for a raid have you been diverting your attention towards that Cranel boy. If it were anyone else, I would have accused you of leaving Aiz as bait to ambush that criminal."

The tent was quiet as the leaders of _Loki Familia_ observed their leading general. Riveria, Gareth, and Loki were staring him down as though he had betrayed them. Tione looked like she wanted to defend him but remained silent. And Bete…

Well, Bete was gagged and tied up in a corner. Loki was not merciful in his punishment for losing today's match.

"You know I would never put you or Aiz or anyone in a position like that," Finn argued with his smile dropping.

"Which is why I will not accuse you of this," she agreed. "That does not excuse you of everything else."

"Finn," Loki leaned forward on her chair with her elbows propped on her knees. "If there's somethin' yur not tellin' me…"

He considered his options. There weren't very many. He was backed into a corner. They were demanding the truth out of him and he couldn't lie to his goddess. There was also a possibility they might never trust him again. There was a possibility he would lose his status as general.

Fortunately, he always knew this day would come. He knew it was right around the corner as soon as they were ambushed back on the Fiftieth Floor.

"If you don't mind waiting a little longer," he turned to them. "I will give you an answer. But I'd rather not repeat myself. What I have to discuss was traumatic and would rather not have to relive it again. I will only share this story once and I would like everyone present. I think Aiz deserves to know about the Good Hunter if—"

"Heyo~" Tiona called out as soon as she entered the tent. Behind her was Aiz. "Eh? What's going on? Why's everyone so glum?"

"Apparently," Gareth snorted, "not only are we in the red fur Loki's bet with the queen, but Finn's 'bout ta eat 'is own foot."

Finn scratched the ridge of his brow. "Uh, you're back. Early. What happened to the party?"

At the question, Tiona craned her neck to gesture to Aiz.

"I've fallen ill," Aiz said as she stepped forward. "There is this pain in my chest that won't go away. I checked; I received no wounds so it must be an ailment. I couldn't enjoy myself and didn't want to bother them."

"When exactly did this pain start?" Riveria asked with mild concern.

Aiz blinked at the question but considered it. She looked away and tilted her head in thought. "It started when Tiona was asking Bell about the queen. It really hurt when he asked to go on a picnic with Syr shortly after."

The tent fell silent briefly.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU KILL HIM?!" Loki screamed as she began to kick Bete in the corner.

Bete tried to protest but couldn't break free from his bonds.

"Oh dear child…" Riveria gave a long sigh as she rubbed her temple.

"Should I report to the infirmary?" Aiz asked with genuine concern.

"There is something very much wrong with you," Riveria returned. "But no healer is able to cure what you have."

"You mean it is incurable?" Aiz asked in a small and terrified voice.

Riveria sighed again.

"Oh my gosh!" Tione approached Aiz. "Aizu, do you know what this means?"

"Am… Am I going to die?" she asked with widened eyes.

"No!" Tiona grabbed her by the shoulders and squeezed. "Now I get why you wanted to leave so early! Aizu, you like Bell!"

Aiz blinked once in confusion. "Of course I like him. I want to be like him."

"No!" Tione joined in with her sister. "We're saying you _like_ him. You were jealous of Syr! You want to be in the same place as her, don't you?"

Aiz's eyes raised as she stared into a scenario only she could see. Her hand reached up to her chest again. Her eyes widened as a slight tint of pink appeared on her cheeks.

"I won't accept this!" Loki shook her fist their way. "Never! I'll never condone this relationship! Aizu belongs to me and me alone! I'll never give her up to a hack and a cheat!"

Gareth cleared his throat, which was more liken to a dying man's wheeze before he kicked the bucket. "This is all… swell an' all but Finn has something he'd like ta share with us. Save it fur next time ya see the Rabbit. Now, Finn?"

The general had a delighted smile at his subordinate's behavior. The smile turned grim once Gareth handed him back the spotlight. He leaned against the strategy table with his head lifted. The grim smile furthered into melancholy as memories he didn't want to recall surfaced.

The elite of _Loki Familia_ were waiting for him. Even Aiz and Tiona, who hadn't been around for the prior conversation, immediately knew what he was about to share. They all moved further into the tent and made themselves comfortable.

"You've all been wondering why I know so much about the Hunters," he muttered while tapping a few fingers in rhythm on the table. "And whether I knew about Bell Cranel the entire time."

If he didn't before, he definitely had Aiz's attention.

"Riveria, Gareth," he began without looking at them. "How long ago was it when we ran into that Irregular monster back in Floor Forty-Two?"

The mood darkened. Everyone knew the start of this story.

"It will be ten years after the solstice," Riveria answered while watching him.

"Ten years…" Finn muttered. He laughed without humor. "I've been a Level Six for that long, eh? I need to go on some epic quest. Now, does anyone remember the name of that Irregular?"

"…You called it an Amygdala," Riveria put emphasis on his part in her statement. "It was an invisible monster only you could claim to be able to see. Others claim they could have but… they quickly went mad before we could reach the surface."

"Before I go any further," he looked at each member of his team. "I ask from this point you listen and not judge. I also ask for you to hold all questions until the end. I will tell you what I know and not hold back any details. It is a long story and one I will not repeat. I also shouldn't have to tell you this does not leave the tent."

All he received back was their undivided attention.

"When I went to fight that monster while everyone was retreating, I couldn't see it. I had failed to anticipate its moves and it had killed me. It wasn't until I had a second chance could I see it in its entirety."

He could see the questions and demands rising from their eyes. Some opened their mouths but did not speak. They were all listening.

"I did not know what it was at the time. But after it had killed me… I was no longer in Orario. I was in another land called Yarnham. It was like… a really bad dream. I could not remember who I was. I was… Nameless Hunter-S; to which I eventually named myself Simon. And for the longest time, I truly believed that dream was reality and I really was Simon. My life here in Orario and with all of you had been forgotten.

"I returned to Orario with all of my memories only when the Good Hunter ended the source of that nightmare.

"But before all of that… let me tell you about the adventures of Simon the Harrowed and the sins he committed in the name of the Healing Church. Let me tell you about the raid the Old Hunters partook in the Fishing Hamlet and the death of a Great One. And let me tell you about my imprisonment in what I called… the Hunter's Nightmare.

"Now… where do I start…?"

0-0-0

He was nervous. The ruff around his neck wasn't helping. But Hestia said he should wear it for tonight.

"Neh, Bell," his goddess reached over and placed her hand on top of his. "You should relax. These things are usually pretty boring. I mostly go for the free food. So let's enjoy ourselves for the night."

"Y-Yeah," he nodded and adjusted the ruff for the thousandth time. "It's just… I'm not used to things like this. I'm just a nobody from a farming village. I never thought I'd be able to wear these clothes and mingle with gods."

"You'll be fine," she assured with a smile. The smile alone eased him tremendously. "I'll be right with you the whole way. And you're not just a nobody. You're my child. I wouldn't have anyone else here with me even if we had a _familia_ of a hundred."

Her hand held his a little tighter.

The carriage they rented for the night came to a stop. They had arrived at their destination. Bell stepped out, straightening the coat of his Cainhurst set, and extended a hand back at the carriage doorway. His goddess took it as she climbed out. It gave him a moment to admire her.

Hestia had bought a new dress for the Gathering of the Gods. Hers was a light blue that matched her eyes and full of frills that made the piece look like flowing water. Her hair was done differently, giving her an elegant, sophisticated, and mature look that reminded him she was a goddess true. She held her head up high and took long strides like a royal princess.

She had a hand around his arm as he escorted her through the walkway leading to the palace. While the Gathering was hosted by _Apollo Familia,_ it was being rented to them via the Guild.

"You're very good at this, Bell," she commented.

"Thank you," he said back, though he was trying his hardest to not trip over his own feet. The Cainhurst set had been tailored to his measurements (and he had questioned how and why Annalise knew them), and that included the leather boots. While everything was extravagantly fashionable befitting Cainhurst nobility, they were also functional for combat.

It was his own nerves that was going to have him embarrass his goddess.

"No really," her smile beamed brighter. "I think this is perfect. I'm telling you, you were made to be at my side."

He blushed as his goddess pressed herself closer to him. Because of the cut of her dress, he got a good look of her bust and the way they were squished against his arm.

His face was burning as his head snapped forward. His body was stiff and he walked woodenly. The memory of his goddess naked played inside his head.

She didn't seem to notice his behavior. Hestia was glowing with their private moment.

They made their way through the front entrance and down the hallway. Golden pillars held up the ceiling while rows upon rows of marble statues of every god in Orario lined their way. His head swerved around, trying to find the statue of his goddess.

He found it; she was dressed in a loose toga with her right breast exposed. Hestia slapped a hand over his face and pulled him past it.

The party was on the second floor. They made their way up the stairs, through another major hallway (this one lined with members of _Apollo Familia_ to welcome and guide them), and into the main ballroom of the palace. The noise of people and gods could be heard from the hallway.

When they entered, they were relatively late to the party. The ballroom was packed with gods and the children they brought along. Most of his attention was on the adventurers. He saw an elf who would like to be anywhere else, a dwarf whose clothes looked too tight, Amazons who seemed as uncomfortable as him in their attire… even if they were still scandalously clad, and so on.

As they made their way through the crowds to find their group, he felt the eyes of everyone they passed fall on him. They began to talk about him behind his back. He had no choice but to ignore them even as his curiosity was starting to rise.

"Ah yes, there you are."

"Hephaestus!" Hestia chirped. "How's it going?"

Bell had never gotten the chance to meet the goddess of the forge. Welf and Hestia talked about her frequently. The goddess was dressed in a slim red and gold dress. There was nothing spectacular about it and Hephaestus didn't seem like the sort to want anything more out of it. She seemed like one of the people in the crowds who would rather not be here.

"So this is your child," Hephaestus eyed him briefly. "I don't think we've had the pleasure of meeting."

They've seen each other around. They were in the same room when Annalise dragged him to meet with Marius of Rakia. But, she was right; they hadn't had a chance to have a conversation.

"You're right!" Hestia gasped and then pulled Bell forward. "Bell, this is Hephaestus. She's the nice lady who was kind enough to find us our love nest and find me employment."

Hephaestus' brows fell into a flat line at the description.

"H-Hello," Bell bowed slightly in greeting. "It's an honor. I've heard a lot about you from my goddess. Thank you for taking care of her after all this time."

"Who is accompanying you, Hephaestus?" Hestia looked around the other goddess' profile. "I don't see anybody."

"He's around," Hephaestus answered. "He went off on his own not too long ago. He should be back shortly."

"I'm right here," Welf spoke up as he broke through the crowds. He carried two glasses of champagne, to which he handed one over to his goddess. "I know I'm not supposed to keep a lady waiting. But I almost had to shoot someone at the bar. Dionysus and Silenus are having at it."

Bell blinked in surprise. Welf was dressed so differently he almost didn't recognize him. He wore a fancy tuxedo with a tail coat and bowtie. His hair was even combed!

"Hello again, Lady Hestia," Welf greeted so formally he was like a completely different person. "It's good to see you again."

"Is that you, blacksmith?" Hestia asked in shock.

Bell nodded at the question.

"I can act civil when I need to," a fragment of the crass Welf returned when he growled.

"You are acquainted already," Hephaestus commented. "That saves me. Oh, Hestia, Miach is here as well. Takemikazuchi was surprised and Miach says you vouched for his clothes and transportation. That's awfully nice of you."

"Can you believe Miach didn't want to go?" Hestia bickered back. "But I told him Nahza needs to spread her wings at some point. We happen to have a little bit of money so we can at least cover this much. Besides, Miach is always helping out Bell with free potions and discounts. It's the least we could do. Neighbors help each other out, don't they?"

"I'm glad the money I gave you hasn't gone to waste."

"How rude!"

Hephaestus had a small smile like an older sister enjoying the teasing of the younger. Her attention shifted from Hestia to Bell. The smile shifted to something more liken to approval.

"Bell, I've heard a lot of things about you lately," she began. "Your goddess has shared some concerning things with me like a certain weapon falling into your hands. But it all comes full circle after the things Welf has told me. I believe I owe you my deepest gratitude. I haven't seen Welf so excited about something since I first showed him my perfect sword."

"H-Hephaestus," Welf tried to keep a straight face but couldn't hold back the blush. "He doesn't need to know about things like that."

"I'm not sure what you're talking about," Bell opened up with. "But I'm the one that's grateful. You've done a lot for my goddess and our _familia_ , Goddess Hephaestus. And Welf has helped me a lot. Honestly… I'd still be grinding on the weaker floors if it weren't for him."

"Just Hephaestus is fine," she replied in a cool voice.

"Eh, even if it's you Hephaestus, I'll be mad if you try to take my Bell from me," Hestia said bluntly.

Further conversation was halted by the noise of the crowds. What was once full of jovial conversation shifted suddenly to sneers and gawking. The change in atmosphere had their group turn to look at what drew everyone's attention.

Walking through the entrance was Queen Annalise and her High Chamberlain. While he was dressed in the standard Cainhurst set just like Bell's, she was dressed in a black gothic ball gown. Rather than a strand of silk over her eyes, Annalise wore a solid black mask that covered the upper half of her face as well as the tip of her nose.

"What's she doing here?"

"Apollo couldn't have invited her, could he?"

"I swore the god of Cainhurst was going to show up instead."

"A shame; I was curious to see who it was."

"Should someone kick her out?"

"It might start a conflict with Cainhurst."

"So what? This is the center of the world!"

"Yes. We have nothing to fear from Cainhurst."

Though the gods gossiped to another, no one moved against Annalise. The adventurers of _Apollo Familia_ didn't move away from their usual tasks; they had been expecting her arrival.

He should greet her at some point. But she looked busy at the moment. Annalise was being stopped by the occasional god willing to talk to her and broke into conversation. She looked engaged in whatever they were discussing and he decided it would be rude to interrupt.

Briefly, no longer than a blink, the Chamberlain made eye contact with him. His head had turned as though sensing Bell's presence in this sea of people.

"Even Queen Annalise is here," Hephaestus commented. "I've noticed a lot of gods who don't attend these things are here. I had thought it was because of her but based on everyone's reactions…"

"Don't you think it's because of today's special condition?" Hestia questioned. "This is the first time we get to bring our kids."

"It feels like there's a joke we're not a part of," Welf muttered as he looked around. "Or… we're the center of it. Something doesn't seem right 'bout this."

"Been' here two seconds and Little Miss Prissy is bein' talked 'bout 'cept me."

Their heads turned to see the new addition to their group that came out of seemingly nowhere.

"Loki!" Hestia gasped.

"Yo, Itty Bitty," the trickster goddess saluted. "See ya learned how ta wear a dress. Yur actin' so grown up I could bust a gut!"

Loki wasn't in a dress. She was in a man's suit, though nothing as fancy as Welf's tuxedo. It was, however, still more noticeably expensive than his.

And standing in her company was— Bell stopped breathing— Aiz Wallenstein in a light green dress. She looked embarrassed in it but she was still breathtakingly beautiful. She looked like a fairy princess to him.

Their eyes met. His face burned and he quickly looked away. But… he felt her eyes continue to stare at him. There was something intentional in her staring. He couldn't guess what it was and couldn't raise the courage to ask.

"When did you get here?" Hestia asked. "You're not the type of person to sneak in here. Usually you try to hog up all the glory for yourself."

"I got shown up by some'n who needs a tan," Loki snorted with disdain. "Still got more attention than ya. I would'a never known y'were here till I saw yur little self behind Hephaestus."

"…Please don't drag me into this," Hephaestus commented.

Hestia's face burned with anger, "At least you _saw_ me! It wasn't until you opened that big mouth did I think you were some man!"

Loki gasped in horror and covered her chest with her arms. The two goddesses began to growl at another like two dogs fighting over the same territory.

"You should go grab some food or something," Hephaestus said while the two goddesses kept bickering. "They'll be at it for a while."

"A-Are they always like this?" Bell asked, looking at his own goddess in a new light.

"Always," Aiz answered simply. "They… don't get along."

Bell nodded as he watched the two butt heads. More insults were exchanged through flaming tongues.

"Would… Would you like a drink?" Bell asked Aiz. He got the idea after he had seen Welf arrived earlier with some champagne for his goddess.

As if sensing his intention, Welf studied his glass briefly.

At first, Aiz looked ready to decline. But then she glanced at the goddesses and answered, "Thank you. I will stay here and make sure Loki doesn't get out of hand."

"I'll be right back then!" Bell took off quickly to whichever direction Welf had previously arrived from.

He didn't think about the lining in Aiz's words nor the repercussions should his goddess try anything and he wasn't there to stop her. The only thing on his mind was to be like Welf and get the girl he crushed on a drink. While there were a few servers going around with silver trays of glasses, he couldn't get any of their attention. Whenever he tried, he either missed them or were moved aside by the shifting tides of the crowds.

He had no choice but to go directly to the bar in the corner of the room. A number of gods and adventurers were lingering in discussion while two bartenders worked furiously to fill out their orders.

And it was here did he run into two individuals he had almost forgotten about.

They looked to be bickering almost as much as Loki and Hestia. Except… they weren't on the verge of tearing out another's throat. Nor could Bell understand what they were discussing. He had no idea what a Power Ranger or Sentai was.

"E-Excuse me," he spoke up as he approached them.

The two fell silent as they regarded him. They were the two adventurers in the Benevolent Mistress when those from _Apollo Familia_ were disrespecting his goddess. The shorter man with the red and blue eyes was the one who had thrown the chair at the prum speaking. And his partner, someone a few years older than Bell from the Far East, was dragged into the mess.

"You were at the Benevolent Mistress, weren't you?" he tried to make sure they were the ones.

The shorter man said nothing. The one from the Far East turned back to the bar and began to sulk as though he had just broken up with his girlfriend.

"Um… Thank you!" Bell said and quickly bowed to them. "I didn't get to thank you for what you did. You got in trouble for it too."

The shorter man kept staring at him. His brows fell into a deeper scowl. He shut his eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them once more.

"From one sociopath to another," he spoke in a low and deep voice. "The first thing you should learn is how to not kill someone."

Bell… fell silent.

The man's eyes shifted back towards the ballroom. Music began to play as people began to spread out and clear the floor. Others went forward in pairs and began to dance.

"Come on," he said to his teammate. "Prom Queen's gonna wanna dance with one of us."

"Yeah, yeah," his teammate pulled himself upright and began to leave. "See you later, Bell."

Bell's head snapped their way as they departed. They knew his name. And… the guy from the Far East said it with a sense of familiarity. But he was pretty sure this was the first time they've spoken to another before.

He didn't think too long on it. He approached the bar, asked for two glasses of champagne, and returned to his original spot. He put most of his focus on not bumping into someone and spilling the contents.

And… as soon as he came back were the two goddesses still going at it. But this time had they gathered a crowd. A group of gods and goddesses were either watching with amusement or making personal bets to see who would win.

"Thank you," Aiz said as she accepted the glass from him. Her eyes were glued to her goddess, unsure whether she should step in or let this further.

Bell was the same way. He decided not to because he knew Hestia would turn her anger to him and demand he make up for it in some embarrassing manner.

He ended up standing next to Aiz for a few minutes. They watched their goddesses have a shouting match that was on the verge of turning into a throw-down. He sipped his champagne quickly, struggling to find anything to talk to her about. The only thing that kept coming up was the Dungeon and training. He didn't want her to think that's all she thought about.

He failed to notice she was in the exact same boat. He didn't know she wanted to talk to him that wasn't about the same things… as well as his side of the story regarding the Hunter's Nightmare. Finn had only told his side of the story and mentioned whenever the Good Hunter, Bell, had arrived.

Welf nudged his shoulder. When Bell looked, Welf jerked his chin at the Sword Princess, who had noticed his actions in the corner of her eye and pretended otherwise. Bell's response was to turn a deep crimson. His eyes looked up at Welf in plea.

Welf rolled his eyes and returned to his goddess. Hephaestus watched him carefully as he straightened himself and extend a hand to her.

"My lady, would you do me the honor of this dance?"

Hephaestus was giving him a flat look that read through him. Her eye shot over to Bell momentarily before she sighed and took his hand. "Gladly."

Welf led her away from the spectacle and towards the dance floor.

Bell was sweating bullets right now. Welf had just abandoned him in his time of need! No. Wait. Welf wouldn't do that. He had carried this charade out for some greater purpose.

Was… Was he showing Bell what to do?

Bell's head creaked towards Aiz. Her eyes met his and hers quickly shot to the floor. A flush rose to her cheeks. The glass of champagne nearly fumbled out of her grip.

For a moment, he thought she was cute. Was this really the Sword Princess, Aiz Wallenstein?

With a shaking hand (and thank all the gods they were gloved else she'd see how much he was sweating) he extended his reach towards her.

"Can I… _May_ I have this— Eh?! Ehhhh?! EHHHHHHHH?! AGAIN?!"

Before he could react, a pair of arms picked him up from behind and threw him over the shoulder of another. He recognized it instantly as the High Chamberlain of Cainhurst. He had snuck through the crowds without making a sound and captured Bell. He began to carry him off to the other side of the room.

He saw Aiz try to reach out for him. But she couldn't move from her post. Her head swiveled around between the feuding goddesses and the kidnapped Bell. She didn't know what she was to do.

It was too late. He was too far away to see her. The High Chamberlain carried him on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes… and eventually dumped him like one.

"Hello, Good Hunter," Queen Annalise greeted him with a soft smile and innocent voice. "Tis a surprise to find thee in our presence. How farest thee on this night?"

He couldn't tell if she was mad at him for not coming to her sooner. She must be. She just had her escort pull Bell away just so the two of them could be alone like this. She was by herself when the Chamberlain threw him off his shoulder.

"Y-Your Highness!" he gasped, shot back up, and patted himself clean. "I'm sorry I didn't come to you sooner. You looked busy greeting everyone else. I didn't want to interrupt."

She smiled further as she dipped her head, "T'would not have been an interruption but merely a salvation. We dislike the gods and their second masks. Thy presence is most welcoming. Are'st thou enjoying the festivities tonight?"

"I, um, just got here not too long ago," he admitted. "My goddess and I only had the chance to bump into a few others we knew. I didn't get to do much else."

"I see," she nodded and took a step closer. "The night is still early. The music hath only just begun."

"I-It did," he agreed and glanced at the dancing couples. "It looks like a lot of fun."

She stepped closer, "Mayhap t'would be wise to ask one to enjoy thy company?"

"Um…"

Another step, "We encourage it. The waltz is a tradition long celebrated in Cainhurst."

"Uh… huh…"

She didn't take a step this time. Her soft smile had fallen. "Indeed. It is one we hath not partaken. There is no current King of Cainhurst. None hath invited us to the floor. Long hast we watched the nobility twirl upon our throne, unpermitted to join."

She turned her head towards the dance floor. Her hands cradled together at her front.

"But… what about…" Bell turned to ask why she wouldn't just dance with the Chamberlain.

Aforementioned shadow of the queen was nowhere to be seen. Bell's head whipped around. He couldn't find a trace of the Chamberlain anywhere.

Queen Annalise's head remained facing towards the dancing, but he could feel her eyes shift towards him behind her mask.

"Would you…" he put up a smile and extended a hand. He didn't get to finish his invitation.

"If it pleaseth our future husband," Annalise said quickly, took his hand, and nearly dragged him off his feet with how hard she tugged him towards the floor. Yet, she had done so with the grace and dignity of a queen.

They found a spot on the dance floor with enough room for them to move freely. Instead of starting to dance right away, the queen took a step away, faced him, and curtseyed. He, not entirely knowing what to do on his end and decided to follow her lead, bowed back at her. She raised herself right after and stepped towards him. She took one of his hands while her other held a piece of her dress so the skirt wouldn't get in the way of their steps. He, with a burning face, placed a hand on her hip.

It was at this moment he realized he had no idea how to dance. They stood still for an awkward moment.

"It is proper for the man to lead," Annalise said softly.

He looked around. The dance seemed simple enough. Every pair was moving around in circles, taking a step around and letting their feet come together and repeating the process.

He began to move. She followed his lead. He was awkward and couldn't find a rhythm at first. She didn't berate him, merely following in his footsteps and keeping at his unorthodox pace. Twice he almost bumped into another pair and apologized for it. The first sneered at him and the other accepted his apology with an understanding look.

Eventually… he began to get the hang of it. His steps became more fluid and he didn't lose his balance. Granted, he couldn't do anything fancy like twirl Annalise around or dip her from her back. But at least he wasn't stepping on her toes and could keep in a tight circle.

"These silks suit thee well," she said once he found the tempo. "Thou'st fit to wear the Cainhurst colors. All thou needest is a crown."

"Your Highness…" he dropped his voice to a low volume. "I really appreciate everything you've given me. The weapons you sent are really useful. I was worried about finding spares for the Dungeon. But… why?"

"Thou'st is precious to us," she answered in a silken voice. Tender and lovely. "Thou ist a fine warrior with a heart most pure. Thou deserveth deeds and titles. Yet, we seeth thyself live in peasantry. Shall'st the world not see thy worth, let us speaketh in thy favor."

His eyes landed on the ring on her finger.

"I don't think you understand," he said with an apologetic tone. "I… I didn't know what that ring meant. I didn't know it was used for marriage. I… just thought it was pretty and would make you happy."

She fell silent as they swayed back and forth.

"…Annalise?"

"Dost thou love another?"

He couldn't speak. A certain golden-haired adventurer popped into his head.

"I see," she said softly, her voice dropping in pitch as though she could read right through him. And perhaps she did.

He stiffened as she moved closer to him. Her chest was against his. She was so close to him he could feel her breath on his neck.

"Thy feelings are irrelevant," she said, whispering to him. "If thou craves a maiden to share in thy bed, we will not be dissuaded. We hath chosen thou as next king… even should'st thou choose to remaineth here. All we ask is thy blessing and grant us—"

"Song's over, boy," someone interjected. "I'm cutting in."

Bell didn't notice the music had stopped. A new piece was beginning.

Annalise stepped away with her head turned towards the god standing at their side. Her lips were curved in a deep frown.

"Such rudeness and vulgarity to interrupt our time with my husband," Annalise raised her head with disdain. "Thou must be Ares. We meet thyself at last."

The god in gold plated armor was frowning back. He didn't look pleased as he extended his hand in silent invitation. If anything, he looked like he didn't want to do it at all and would rather be anywhere else but here.

Bell could not refute a god. He had no choice but to take a step back.

Annalise's chin turned his way slightly. Disappointment curved her lips this time but she quickly hid it as she turned back to Ares. With as much enthusiasm as the Rakian god, she took his hand.

"Fare thee well, Good Hunter," Annalise said before she moved from her spot. "For the honor of Cainhurst."

It was only then did she step towards Ares. Ares glowered at Bell and nudged his head to the side, gesturing for Bell to leave them.

And he did, walking off of the floor. His head looked over his shoulder to glance at the queen and god of war. Though Annalise's head was facing towards Ares, he could feel her eyes watch him.

"Bell, there you are!" he heard his goddess as soon as he stepped off the floor. "Where have you been? Have you been dancing?! With who?!"

"Ah, goddess," he greeted while giving Annalise a final look. "I was with the queen for a moment. I was trying to clear up the thing about the ring—"

"Tell me all about it later," Hestia said hurriedly as she grabbed his hand. "We're dancing!"

And once more was he dragged back onto the dance floor. But, he noticed, Hestia had chosen a spot on the opposite side— specifically as far away from Annalise as was possible.

0-0-0

"If thou'st wishes to gain our good graces, patience mayeth be a start."

"My patience has run thin, witch."

"So eager is thou for this moment thou'st invaded Apollo's territory? Hast thou no shame?"

"Save it. Don't think I want to be here with you. You and I need to have a word."

"An invitation would have sufficed. Or, mayhap, attending the delegations as was thy wish all along."

"…I don't want your vampires or the gods to hear. This is between you and I alone."

"We art listening."

"I know what you are. You are a walking heresy. It is everything that I am that demands I destroy you and everything you stand for."

"Nothing changes in thy desires, Ares of Rakia. Why speaketh these words?"

"I say this… because I want to wash my hands of you and your monsters. I will sign your armistice and be done with Cainhurst. However… I cannot leave Orario. There is something here that I want."

"…"

"And I know there is something you crave. Your precious… Paleblood. Once the armistice is signed will both our armies have no reason to occupy Orario's territory. We will be forced to leave."

"Thou'st threatens us with peace, god of war. How ironic. We assume thou demandeth our assistance in what you seek? Will thou offer us the same in turn?"

"I want you to return what you robbed of me. Then I want you to return to your castle and _never_ come out of it again. You can be forgotten in your frozen palace."

"Amusing. Tis almost an apology, god of war. We mayeth assume thou'st retreating."

"Do not push me, witch."

"Of course. Tell us, Ares, what treasure dost thou desire?"

0-0-0

He had been at this party for two hours when… he needed a break to catch his breath. Bell had been dragged around by his goddess all across the venue. She had introduced him to a few of her divine friends and then had raided the buffet for food they could never hope to afford. After that, they danced some more.

He had the distinct feeling Hestia pulled him along to make sure he stayed away from Aiz and Queen Annalise. He didn't get the chance to talk to them again. In fact, he couldn't bump into Welf for assistance.

He had finally managed to break free from his goddess when she excused herself for the washroom. While he loved his goddess immensely… it felt like she was smothering him sometimes.

Bell found himself leaning over the balcony overviewing the gardens below. The air was a little warm, signifying the change from winter into spring. Still, no one was around in the area despite the peaceful setting and clean air. How could the gods drink and dance so much under such a stuffy atmosphere?

"Pardon me, do you mind if I join you?" a voice asked as he heard the clicking of boots approach.

"Eh, no, not at…" he began but the words fell. His hands reached for a weapon he didn't have on hand. His goddess had told him it was forbidden and it was up to the security of _Apollo Familia_ to act should anything happen. And yet…

The one who had stepped up to his side and stood a few meders away was a tall man in the prime of his age. He had long black hair and somewhat of a stretched face. His eyes were soft, aged from conflict and maturity, but gentle and forgiving. His smile was grim from a life of burdens but friendly and honest.

He wore the white and gold robes of a Church Executioner.

"Forgive me for disturbing you, good Hunter," the man spoke courteously and greeted Bell not by his notorious title. The impression made was from one Hunter to another. "I saw you alone here and thought to converse with you while I still have the chance."

"Who are you?" Bell demanded.

There were two types of Hunters Bell had come across so far. The first were like Welf; those who originated from Orario and were transported into the Dream. The second, however, were like Lady Maria, Gascoigne, and Henryk. They had been from Yarnham originally and had followed him to Orario in vendetta against him.

Bell needed to know which one this man was. And if his goddess was in danger.

The man's eyes read through everything going on inside Bell's head. He lowered his chin in grim acceptance. There was almost a sorrowful look in his eyes.

"It is as you fear," the man answered. "I am a Hunter who has followed you into this strange land, much like Maria and Gehrman. But know I mean you no harm tonight. You have no reason to believe or trust me. I only ask you listen while there is time."

"Who are you here with?" Bell asked next. What god was this man escorting? Or had he been able to sneak in on his own?

"The Doll," the man answered simply. "You must understand something. I've not seen her but once in the height of Gehrman's mania. She was lifeless; no more than a masterpiece of porcelain. And yet, ever since coming to this realm does she walk and talk. All of us follow her without question. What she says we abide without further thought. It is as though the life I roam through today is but a dream; a dream where dolls come to life and gods dine among us mortals."

He spoke quickly, almost desperately. He was trying to make his point across as quickly as he could. He had a limited amount of time. But from what? And why?

His words meant something to Bell. What this Hunter was going through… it was as though he had been abducted from his world and entered another dream. It was the reverse of what Bell had gone through.

"I remember dying. I remember being slain… by you. My head severed and the madness consuming me until I could no longer see the fleeting light. And yet, here I am wholly corporeal and aware of my position. I have seen the light; they whisper truths to me and have guided me thus far to you. But what's more… I am not sure whether I am the real me or if I am some imaginative concept the real me dreams about in death. What happens when the dream comes to an end?

"I do not wish to know. Good Hunter, I speak for all of us. I must plea with you. What I ask may become a labor or quest. I will not deny it will be perilous. You have no reason to answer but still must I try. There is none other who can bring us salvation.

"Kill us. End our nightmare. We are not in control of ourselves. We only wish to wake from this nightmare— whether it is real or not. I will not deny if you mettle against us… we will not be able to hold back. We will match your might with our greatest. Knowing this, I still beg of you."

He had more to say. His mouth was open. But… it shut and his eyes hardened with disappointment. He moved away from the ledge.

"Hello again, Good Hunter."

A monotone voice called out to him from the entrance. When he looked, he saw the Doll stepped out of the party and onto the balcony. She was still dressed in the same clothing as last he saw her. Her face was a blank, as lifeless and devoid of emotion as it always was, while her silver eyes were locked onto his.

"What's going on?" Bell demanded.

The Doll came close to him. He couldn't move away but that didn't mean he couldn't escape. He could _Quicken_ around her and go back into the party.

"What do you mean?" she asked, tilting her head slightly. "I am here to speak with the gods. I wished to speak with Goddess Freya, but she is not here. Do you know where I can find her?"

Bell's eyes flashed towards the Executioners. The man bowed his head and shut his eyes.

"What's going on?" Bell repeated. "How are you here? Why… Why are people like Lady Maria here with you?"

"I don't understand," the Doll responded. "I am here because I am here. Was it any different in the Hunter's Den?"

"None of that was real!" Bell blurted out. "It was all a dream! A dream created by the Old Ones!"

"And yet, you wield weapons and skills found only among Hunters," she countered. "Would you not say those are both real here? I do not understand your point, Good Hunter."

"…What do you want from me?" he asked next. The Doll wasn't going to answer his questions directly. He needed a new approach.

The Doll didn't answer him. Not right away. Her head tilted to the other side as she gave a slow blink. She watched him for a long moment.

She raised her hand towards him, "May I see your hand?"

He thought against it. It was a strange request and he couldn't fully trust the Doll. Not after what the Executioner had just told him. And yet… he wouldn't receive any answers if all he did was demand them. One of them was going to have to bend. He doubted the Doll would be willing.

He gave her his hand, making sure to watch her closely. She cupped it with both hands, holding them gently but firmly. Almost like how Hestia had done earlier in the carriage ride.

"Your touch is soothing," she said. "I sense a power through you. Something not seen since the ancients revealed themselves. It is almost as if you are one of us… But how strange.

"I can no longer hear the Echoes of Flora. You have fully assimilated her."

"BELL!"

0-0-0

"Hestia my sweet, how delightful for you to arrive. You are still as beautiful as you were back in Tenkai. Are you enjoying the celebration?"

Hestia made a face as though she had stepped on a pile of horse shit and had permanently ruined her new shoes. She needed these things to last the next few Gatherings! There wasn't enough soap and polish alive to get rid of the stench alone!

She may have taken her own metaphor a little too literal. It was, after all, how she truly felt about the solar divinity waiting in ambush.

She didn't greet Apollo. Something wasn't right.

The music had stopped playing. A pack of his servants were following behind him.

"Alas, our reunion cannot be under better conditions," Apollo put a hand to his brow and gave a dramatic bow of his head. "It appears my children have caused yours some trouble."

"…This is news to me," she muttered while watching him carefully.

She and Apollo had a history together. One she wouldn't like to talk about. Needless to say, Apollo had been harassing her ever since they ruled up in the heavens. His pursuit for her hadn't died down since coming to the mortal plane and being distracted by his own _familia_ of pretty things.

"You know how the children can be," Apollo shook his head with a shrug. His face hardened before she could ask for the specifics. "However, it doesn't excuse the way your child treated mine. My precious child was critically injured by your boy. I demand compensation."

"What?!" she shouted. "Bell would never do something like that! Where's your proof, Apollo?!"

He didn't hide the smug smile from her… or anyone else watching this soap opera drama. He snapped a finger. The crowd behind him split and a prum stepped forward. Most of his face was covered in bandages.

"My dear Luan came home so beaten and bloodied that day I had to hide my eyes. My soul wept in his presence!"

He threw his arms around the boy and began to openly sob. The prum moaned and groaned in agony.

Hestia couldn't say a word. Whether Bell had or hadn't done something like this wasn't the point. She knew she was being set up and didn't have a means to defend herself. It was her word against his. She needed to find Bell to clear this up.

"Additionally," Apollo rose (also pushing Luan aside now that he no longer mattered in this drama) and stepped up to Hestia. He towered over her. "I have heard that it was your boy who initiated the fight. There are many witnesses. You are not talking your way out of this."

He clapped his hands this time. From the crowds circling them came several adventurers. They all either nodded at Apollo's words or shared their own side of the story. They universally agreed it was Bell who went berserk on Luan and shattered his face.

They were all liars. They were all lying in the presence of the gods! And yet… not one of the divines were calling out on it.

Of course, they were more interested in this performance as a means of entertainment. They didn't care if justice was carried out properly.

"Bull-fucking-shit!" Welf roared and shoved his way through the crowds. His face was as red as his hair as he came to Hestia's side. "I was there too, Lord Apollo. Someone else beat Bell to the punch."

"Really?" Apollo scoffed. "Where is your proof? Name the culprit."

"I…" Welf grunted as his head looked over the crowds. He couldn't find what he was looking for. "It was… he was here. Short guy. Red and blue eyes. Vicious scowl. I think he came in with Prometheus."

"How convenient," Apollo lifted his head and laughed. "Your scapegoat is nowhere to be seen. Your words hold no merit here, boy. It is your word against the many."

"Are you saying my child is a liar, Apollo?" Hephaestus stepped out of the crowds to join Welf.

"No more than you might claim mine to be," Apollo sneered back. "I admire your friendship, Hephaestus. But you need not stake your neck in this. This is an affair between Hestia and I. It's clear your child is only protecting the perpetrator."

Welf was about to snap back. But Hephaestus grabbed his arm. They exchanged a look; one that had him understanding an entire conversation. He held himself back.

"One of my beloved followers was badly wounded," Apollo went back to his theatrical performance. "The reputation of my _familia_ is on the line. Hestia, will you not take responsibility for his actions?"

"Enough already!" she snapped. "It's clear you're full of it! There's no way I'll accept anything!"

He smiled again. This time, it was of a wolf who had caught its prey in its jaws.

"Then you leave me no choice! Hestia… I declare a War Game!"

Hestia's eyes widened as she fumbled back. Her heart skipped a beat.

This was what she had feared the most. She was afraid someone would come after her and Bell at some point. They were a small _familia_ with no means of defending themselves. They were poor and barely growing. Their connections weren't anywhere near as powerful as others. Her greatest asset was Hephaestus… who couldn't afford to side with her as her _familia_ was purely neutral.

The gods weren't taking pity on her. No one was willing to stand against Apollo at this moment. They were all enjoying this. They _wanted_ to see someone as formidable as _Apollo Familia_ against her insignificant one. It would be like a great lion being put in the same pit as a rabbit.

"Dost thou only seek compensation, or retribution, God Apollo?"

The only one willing to offer any assistance in this moment was the last person she wanted to hear from. She would have welcomed Loki or even _Freya_ over this person.

Apollo glowered at the queen, "Hoh? How strange. I recall inviting the god of Cainhurst. I suppose your presence was to be expected as their proxy. No, child. What I demand is justice! I want that boy to know the pain I've felt. And, Hestia, when you've lost, I will demand you surrender Bell Cranel to me!"

"WHAT?!" she shrieked. So this was what he was after! This wasn't even about some sketchy brawl. He was only after Bell!

"Will'st gold not dissuade thou?" Annalise went on. "Cainhurst can offer riches fit for thyself."

"Did you not hear me?" Apollo sneered at her.

"Sufficiently," Annalise had a smile of her own. "Our offer is thy last hope, God Apollo. Should'st thou continue with this affair, Cainhurst shall respond appropriately. Thou'st harasseth my husband and disparageth his goddess. To do so… is to insult Cainhurst—"

"Stop!" Hestia put up a hand. "You… I've had enough of you. You can buy Bell all the fancy clothes and weapons he wants. You can pretend to be his future wife all you want. But you are _not_ his. Bell belongs to _me_ and this is a problem for my _familia_. You will not get involved any further."

She knew she needed the queen's help. She was a powerful force capable of opposing Rakia. Her army would be the bane of Apollo. It didn't matter if it might throw the entirety of Orario into a war with Cainhurst— that wasn't the bigger picture.

She knew if she gave in to Annalise's help… she would lose Bell forever to the queen. It would be the final nail in the coffin.

It also meant she couldn't accept help from anyone else.

Annalise stared long and hard at Hestia. There was no doubt she could see through that visor. Her lips had thinned with irritation and anger. But she didn't act any further.

"As for you, Apollo," Hestia turned back to the solar god.

Apollo cracked a smile and crossed his arms. He was eager for her answer.

As a goddess, as head of _Hestia Familia_ , and as the only one who could protect Bell from a possessive titan like this, Hestia gave the most appropriate response to this declaration of war.

She stuck her tongue out and blew raspberries until she was out of air. Only then did she turn on her heels, shove what gods were in her way, and went to look for Bell.

"Are you sure you won't regret this?" she heard Apollo's mocking tone.

She didn't dignify that with an answer. She kept marching. She heard the groans and complaints of the other gods and ignored them too.

She found Bell at the furthest outskirts of the party. If he hadn't come to her side in the moment then he had to be outside of earshot of that whole mess. He was standing at the balcony… with two others.

Her eyes widened as her blood ran cold. What rage Apollo had stirred in her froze solid.

The Doll and Bell were together. Their hands were touching.

Hestia could sense the subtle rise of Arcanum come from the Doll. She was doing something to Bell and he didn't realize it.

"BELL!" she shrieked and ran straight to him. Her shouting had alarmed him and gained the attention of the white robed man. But the Doll, as though already knowing she was there, hardly reacted.

Hestia chopped her hand through theirs, effectively cutting off their connection and whatever spell the Doll was illegally using. It was worse than Hestia feared. The Doll was an unsealed goddess— a divine being from the heavens who still had access to their miracles. The Doll's power was just subtle enough to shatter her shell and send her back to heaven… or get the attention of any of the other divinities within the palace.

"Stay away from him!" she shouted and held Bell close to herself. "If I ever see you near him again, I'm going to smash that face into a thousand pieces!"

"G-Goddess?" she heard Bell gasp in surprise for both her sudden arrival as well as her threat.

"I will not allow something like that, little goddess," the stranger, presumably the Doll's escort, spoke in a firm voice.

Hestia looked him over. He was big. Not one of the biggest adventurers she had ever seen but still much bigger than her. And he looked like he knew how to fight… and was willing to defend the Doll even if it meant hurting a goddess.

"If I ever see you near him again, I'll have Bell break you into a thousand pieces!" she reiterated her previous statement.

"…I think that's a bit much, goddess," Bell breathed out.

"You need not worry," the Doll spoke without emotion. "I have what I came for. Thank you."

With that, she bowed, turned, and began to walk away. Her escort followed right behind.

"Wait!" Hestia shouted. "What's that supposed to mean?! Come back here and answer me!"

Naturally, the Doll didn't listen. They reentered the venue and disappeared among the crowds.

"Goddess…" Bell put a hand on her arm. "Please calm down. I'm fine. I don't know why she came here but… I'm unhurt."

"We're going home, Bell," Hestia huffed as she grabbed his hand. "I'm going to update your status to make sure that hissy didn't mess with anything. There's also something we need to discuss. You didn't tell me you came across one of Apollo's benders."

"…I don't know what that means. But there was that one time someone from _Apollo Familia_ was… saying some bad things about you."

"What! What did they say about me?"

"I really don't want to say, goddess."

"Bell, you have my permission to use any and all vulgarity used in describing me. I won't be mad at you. I'll just have more of a reason to be angry at Apollo for pulling today's stunt."

"But… I… Yes, goddess."

They left, holding each other's hands and exchanging another's stories. He told her about the incident down in the Benevolent Mistress and how he almost killed the prum if someone didn't throw a chair first. Hestia let out a breath of air— the repercussions would have been significantly worse if Bell followed through. And, in turn, she told him what Apollo had demanded of her.

She knew this wouldn't be the last she heard of it. But all she could do was wait and try to anticipate Apollo's next move. How far was he willing to go to steal her Bell?


	17. Chapter 17

Today was going to be a great day. He knew it!

Bell woke up at his usual time but took a little extra time preparing. He had a date with Syr and needed to look his best. He fretted over his clothes, to his hair, and even how he smelled. Maybe he should have splurged some of his money on some perfume? No, despite having some spare money he shouldn't spend it on something like that.

"This is really happening," his goddess said as she watched him run around their small room. She was dressed for the day and only needed to gather her things for her daytime job. "I feared it. I couldn't stop it from coming. What's a goddess to do in a situation like this?"

"Is something wrong, goddess?" Bell asked as he pulled his jacket out of the wardrobe.

"It's nothing," she said and approached him. "Make sure to be on your best behavior. Oh, and make sure to keep everything at public decency level."

"G-Goddess," he blushed. "Syr isn't that type of girl. I would never do something like that to her."

"…I'm more worried what she'll try to do to you," she returned bluntly. "So what's the plan, Bell?"

Bell raised his head towards the ceiling as he recalled the discussion, "Well… I'm supposed to meet her at the Benevolent Mistress in a bit. Then we'll head down Central and take a stroll through the park there. And then have a picnic. I'm not sure what else we're going to be doing."

Hestia looked away as jealousy burned through her. She made herself busy by beating the dust out of her work apron. She may or may not have been imagining it to be Syr in this moment.

"Do you think I should bring a weapon just in case?" he asked as he eyed his stash of equipment.

"Maybe just the knife," she offered. "It's not like you're taking her through the— You know what? Here's an idea. Why don't you stroll through the Dungeon?"

"I can't do that!" he gasped. "Goddess, she's not an adventurer! I know I can protect her through the first floors but still! Grandpa told me to never expose a girl to danger! Besides… I'm still under suspension."

Hestia clicked her tongue. There went the chance of something unfortunate happening to her most irksome of rivals. At least then she'd be able to focus the rest of her efforts on trying to get rid of Annalise. But it was Bell's mysterious grandfather who saved Syr from an accident.

"Things have been hectic lately so bring the knife just in case," Hestia offered anyways. "You never know when some scoundrel will come along. Just make sure nothing can be traced back to _Hestia Familia_."

Bell nodded and pulled out the Oedon Knife. He stared at it for a moment as he recalled something. "Hey, goddess? What's a sociopath?"

She gave him a strange look. "A really messed up person who does things without concern of morality. Why?"

Bell had recalled the words of the short man at the party. He had called Bell a sociopath and offered him strange advice: to learn how to not kill someone else.

And yet, Bell recalled the feeling when that prum disrespected his goddess.

"…I think I'll leave this all here," Bell said as he put the knife back.

"You sure?" she asked. "Not even for self-defense? There are a lot of crazy people out there, Bell. There's also that nut who spilled monster juice all over me. She's still at large somewhere."

"I think we'll be fine if we stay near other people," he suggested more to himself than anything. He put on his jacket and looked himself over in the mirror. He was ready.

"Good call," she nodded approvingly. "Welp… have fun, Bell. Make sure to be home at an appropriate time. I'll be mad if I found out you stayed at that tavern again. Even if you're on your deathbed."

"Y-Yes goddess," Bell laughed nervously as he headed for the door. "Have a good day at work."

He stepped out, climbed up the stairs, and began to head out of the church.

He was only halfway through the antechamber when he stopped walking. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up.

His eyes widened as a storm of arrows and fireballs came crashing down from the ceiling. He _Quickened_ away and dove back down the stairs. He tumbled down and crashed through the door. He heard his goddess shriek but still he moved. He threw himself on the door and slammed it shut.

"B-Bell!" his goddess gasped. "What's going on! You're hurt!"

He had a few cuts and burns. He couldn't fully escape from that ambush. The _Quickening_ technique only allowed him to become mist and ash for a single leap. It heightened his dodging window by increasing his speed and leaping distance, but it was only for an instant. A few arrows clipped him and the fires singed at his exposed flesh.

 _"Bell Cranel!"_ someone shouted from the altar outside. _"You're surrounded. You have to the count of five to surrender. Otherwise we will…"_

He blocked out the voice as he threw himself at the wardrobe. _To the count of five_ ; it meant he had maybe five to seven seconds. He acted as soon as the voice mentioned the countdown, which gave him a few extra seconds as the person rambled on with conditions of his surrender.

"Put this on," he said in a hurry as he threw the Crozzo coat at his goddess.

"Bell, tell me what happened!" she demanded out of panic but listened. The coat was a little long on her; it reached to her ankles and the sleeves covered her hands.

It was the best protection he had against fire and piercing weapons. Even if it was shredded. Plus… he didn't have the time to fully don the Cainhurst set.

He emptied the contents of his backpack onto the floor and grabbed what he could. Blood Vials, Beast Pellets, and a single case of Quicksilver bullets.

He put the Oedon Knife in his pocket, put the Reiterpalasch and Evelyn through both sides of his belt— he hesitated about the next one— threw the Chikage over his shoulder, and placed the Blade of Mercy beneath the Chikage's holster.

He had no protection against himself. There was hardly anything he could do about that. No, what mattered more was protecting his goddess. He didn't know who was out there.

He started to smell smoke. The church was on fire. He couldn't stay locked up in this hole forever. If the crooks didn't break down the door and rush him, they would let him and his goddess burn alive. That is… if the smoke didn't suffocate them first.

But how many were out there? His mind flashed at how many fireballs he saw and the trajectory of the arrows. There was a large party hiding in the rafters of the church. He could challenge them all, he knew, but could he do it while protecting his goddess?

No. He couldn't.

His eyes flashed down at the silver instrument on the floor.

He needed to use it. She will understand.

 _"Four… Five! Time's up Cran—"_

He grabbed his goddess, carrying her like a princess, and kicked open the door. He dashed through at his maximum speed through the stairs and down the antechamber. He leapt from pew to pew in a mad dash for the exit.

"F-Fast!" he heard one of them shout in surprise.

He gritted his teeth as a hail of arrows narrowly missed him. Some cut into his cheek and another dug into his shoulder. But he held his goddess firmly, using his body as a shield. He bellowed as he kicked off the last pew and dove for the door.

He crashed through it, rolling and begging his goddess was unharmed. He couldn't rest here. He rolled back to his feet and kicked off the ground once more. He sprinted up the street and as far away from the church as he could.

"THEY BURNED OUR LOVE NEST!" his goddess screamed in fury. "Bell! Our house is on fire!"

If she could shout like this then she was unharmed. It was a relief but not a remedy. They weren't out of the woods yet.

"Open fire!" someone shouted from the rooftops.

Adventurers appeared with bows and crossbows. They had been waiting for him on the chance they managed to escape from the church. They fired in unison towards him.

Bell dove into the nearest alleyway, spinning as he crashed against the wall, and stumbled to remain on his feet. He continued to run forward with a mental map in his head on where he should go.

"Bell, ahead!"

More adventurers stepped out to block his path. They bore weapons and shields. Their job was to intercept him, knowing he was going to run in this direction.

He let go of his goddess. She was surprised by the sudden lack of support and almost missed her chance to land on her feet. She stumbled forward while the momentum carried her.

Bell dashed forward, analyzing the adventurers in his path by their size, their weapons, and their positioning.

He noticed the insignia they all bore. They belonged to _Apollo Familia_.

He withdrew the Oedon Knife and Evelyn. In this cramped alleyway, they had the disadvantage of close quarters combat.

The first adventurer at the front came at him with a mace. He dodged, closed the distance, and drove the Oedon Knife through the leather vest. The man gasped in surprise and pain. Bell pushed him back, knocking him into his teammate and having them fumble around trying to catch him. In this moment, Evelyn was pointed and fired. The second adventurer's head was blown out and his blood splashed over his teammates. They froze after witnessing his death.

Bell kicked off of their collapsing form and leapt onto the final adventurer. By the time this one gained his bearings and began to react… the Oedon Knife had dug into his throat. The man fumbled back, dropping his weapons, and clutched both hands tightly around his neck in a futile effort to stop his death.

"B-Bell…" he heard his goddess.

He didn't want to look at her. He didn't want to see the way she was looking at him.

"Fucking hell!" someone shouted on the other side of the alleyway. "He killed them! The hell with capturing him now!"

He moved. He grabbed his goddess again and leapt over the dying bodies. He continued to sprint through the winding corners of the lower district's back alleys.

"Stop him at Ninth South!"

"I need healing potions!"

"Block all roads leading to the Guild!"

"Archers, follow him on the rooftops!"

"Don't let the Rabbit escape!"

0-0-0

Syr was singing a happy tune as she waited for Bell to show up. She was dressed in a bright green dress, fit for the approaching spring weather. She swayed back and forth with anticipation, almost as eager as a little girl for today. Close to her feet was a basket of the food she had personally made for Bell to enjoy.

"He's nyot here yet?" Anya asked as she stepped out of the tavern.

"I'm sure he's just as nervous as I am," Syr said with a smile. She rubbed her palms on the back of her dress again. She didn't want them to clam up when Bell arrived. "It's still early in the morning. I don't mind waiting a little bit longer."

"He usually comes running around this time," Lyu spoke up as she came out with a wet rag. She began to wash the wooden railings. "Do you have everything you need, Syr?"

"Yep!" she chirped and gestured at the basket. "I slaved all morning preparing. I'm sure he's going to love it."

Anya made a face as she instinctively wrapped her arms around her stomach, "That bunny better undnyastand how much we suffered for him."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Syr huffed and put her knuckles on her hips.

"Syr's cooking is terrible!"

"It is not!" Syr gasped. "I've been practicing for days! Lyu, tell me the truth."

Lyu gave the both of them a flat look as she considered her words carefully. "I'm sure Mister Cranel is the sort of gentleman who will appreciate your cooking, Syr. However… I do believe it would have been better if you accepted the chefs' assistance."

"Not you too!" Syr whined. "Just what is so bad about it?"

Lyu chose to return to her work and pretend she didn't hear her friend's inquiry.

"Nya?" Anya lifted her head and took a few sniffs. "Did nya burn somethin' Syr? I smell toast."

Syr took a few sniffs as well. The smell wasn't coming from her basket or from the kitchens. It wasn't even coming from the same street. Her eyes traveled through the sky in search of smoke. She found a spot of black rising far down. The wind had carried the ashes this far.

"That's… in the lower district," she noticed. A lump grew in her chest. That was where Bell lived. But… no, it couldn't be. The lower district was a large area. He couldn't be swept up in the fire.

"I'm sure it is nothing," Lyu said, noticing Syr's behavior. She was the epitome of calm as she continued to scrub. "It looks small and will be handled quick…ly…"

They both looked at her. Lyu's eyes had flashed upwards as though something else had suddenly gotten her attention. Cooly, without breaking from her calm appearance, she stood straight and rung out the rag.

"I forgot to buy pheasants for tonight's menu," she said as she began to head back into the tavern. "I will need to step out to get them."

Syr's hand came up to her chest. Lyu's words… it was a code for something else.

Bell really was in trouble. Lyu had come to this conclusion and was going to help him. Even if it meant exposing herself.

Something serious was going on if Lyu was going to step out as the Crow once more.

"Pheasants!" Anya, completely oblivious of anything going on, threw her hands up in excitement. "Mary's making pheasants again, nya?! Lyu, make sure to buy the really big nyand juicy ones!"

"Lyu!" Syr went around Anya and stood at the doorway.

Lyu looked over her shoulder. Her eyes were cold and calculating, already setting her mind for the task at hand.

Syr clutched her hand close to her chest. The next words hurt to say. It hurt to say as a woman… as someone who did love Bell and knew she couldn't do anything.

"I'm relying on you," she said with a smile.

Lyu's eyes softened for a moment. She understood how her friend was feeling. She nodded and climbed up the steps leading to her room.

0-0-0

"Huh?! No way! Impossible!"

"…What is it Olek?"

"Did you hear that?!"

"Hear what?"

"The bell! It's a Beckoning Bell! There's another Hunter out there that's in trouble! It wasn't just a dream! I'm not crazy! HA HA HA HA HA HA—"

"Shut your trap and get back to work!"

"Y-Yes sir…"

0-0-0

"Is something wrong?"

"…I hear it."

"Hear what?"

"The bell. I… didn't think it was real."

"What are you talking about?"

"I… It's nothing. No. I can't ignore this. I'm stepping out for a bit."

"Eh?! Wait! Where are you going?!"

0-0-0

"What are you doing?"

"Answering a call."

"Uncle, you're too old to be adventuring again. I know Aphrodite is an eye but I think she will understand… Wait… that's not your adventuring gear. What is that?"

"A comrade is in danger. I can't ignore it. Tell your aunt I'll be home for dinner."

"Wait! What is that? Where are you going?"

0-0-0

"So Asfi," Hermes adjusted his hat as he eyed the terrain, "what're our carnivorous little friends up to today?"

Asfi gave him a look. She wasn't amused with the joke. She had seen too many Cainhurst soldiers literally tear chunks out of Rakian soldiers with their teeth. Hermes played it off for laughs.

"The Queen seemed to have held court while we were distracted by Apollo's celebration," she answered. "It's as you suspect; the Cainhurst nobility underwent a status update. It's noticed their advancement has been halted significantly since Ares has withdrew his troops. They're resorting to private duels out of either sport or petty disagreements."

"Killing your teammates out of sport…" Hermes hummed as he scratched the ridge of his brow. "Well, whatever gives them dregs, I suppose. What are the numbers?"

"Cainhurst has a total of 2239 Knights. They've lost roughly half of their forces; most of which came from this infighting rather than against Rakia."

"Is that so…? Tell me, from what our little birds have been able to see, exactly how high of a growth in status are the surviving Vilebloods?"

"It varies. Those low on the totem pole like Chevaliers and barons don't have any noticeable differences in their statuses. But those as high as the duchy and marshal have an exponential growth. It's similar to killing high ranking monsters; they've gained an appropriate amount of excelia based on their opponent… or _dregs_ in this case."

"Well that's troublesome. Almost terrifying. Have we witnessed anyone from the Royal Guard or even the Chamberlain yet?"

"No but…"

"Go on."

"The archduke has just been inducted into the Royal Guard after dueling his brother. According to the report, it was a celebratory game, almost a gladiatorial fight to see who was going to become the queen's private force. They see it as the highest honor. I can't imagine how many dregs that man possessed on his person."

"Now we've stepped into the terrifying," Hermes' melancholy smile fell into a purely grim expression. "They're literally eating each other to satisfy their hunger as well as to grow stronger. If we're not careful… we might have a force just as strong as any top-tier _familia_."

"…Should we intervene?" Asfi looked at him through the corner of her eye.

Hermes considered his options. "Getting rid of a few of them might delay the inevitable. But it's too risky. There's a chance we could fail and get caught. I don't think anyone but you can fight one of the bosses. Not to mention… I heard an interesting rumor the Chamberlain is equal to a Level Six… so let's assume the Royal Guard are equal to Level Five. How Prince Marius killed one of those monsters is a mystery…"

"I might lose these reports," Asfi mentioned, tapping the manila folders on the desk. "They might find themselves in the hands of Loki or Ganesha."

"Asfi Andromeda," he cackled lightly, "you of all people losing things? How careless of you. Well, even if those two learn of this, nothing really changes. Unless war breaks out there's really not much we can do."

"I believe they should at least know and prepare on the chance something happens," she pointed out. "Cainhurst is growing before our very eyes. They pose a threat to Orario."

"Maybe," he smiled further as his mind raced. "But we have no business with Cainhurst and they have none with us. At the moment their blades are pointed at Rakia. So long as we don't give them a reason to…"

He drawled off. His head turned back towards the city.

Asfi craned her neck to study him.

"Asfi," all charm washed away from the messenger god. His face was serious. "Gather a crew and move swiftly. Return to the city."

"…May I ask why?" she only dared to ask.

"A Hunter doesn't ring a Beckoning Bell unless they're foolish or in dire peril. Considering who our prime suspect is… I'm afraid it might be the latter."

"Understood," she said and moved quickly to carry out the order.

Hermes watched her leave the tent. His eyes hardened.

"Apollo, you damn fool. You woke the hornets' nest. Every Hunter in Orario and beyond is going to hear that bell… This sucks. I wanted to ring it when Uranus' plan was finished. Now those fakes down in the Dungeon will become aware of our secret weapon."

0-0-0

"What is it, Finn?"

"Hmm. Did you hear a bell ring?"

"A bell? No. Did you?"

"If you didn't… it must have been my imagination. Besides, it's not like I can leave my post at the moment."

"…Is this a Hunter thing?"

"Do you remember the chime we heard down in the Dungeon? There's a similar ring from something called a Beckoning Bell. It goes with a Resonant Bell. The first calls for help while the latter answers. But seeing as you didn't hear a bell go off…"

"If you say so. Hmm? _Hermes Familia_ seems to be up to something. The Perseus is on the move. She's… returning to the city?"

"Really? Strange. I wonder what got their attention."

"Finn. Does this have anything to do with your bell? The timing is too convenient."

"Riveria, you're scaring me with that look. I swear I have nothing to do with it this time."

"…You know what? Never mind. I just won't get involved if this somehow comes back to bite you."

"If that's what you say. Any clue where the girls went?"

"They went down to check the vendors between Rakia and Cainhurst camps. I sent them to observe the behavior of both armies. Though, I don't doubt they'll distract themselves with a little shopping."

"Shopping. It's as if I didn't give them all a few days off."

"Spying on Cranel isn't a day off."

"Still better than standing here doing nothing all day, I think."

0-0-0

"That you, Lil'E?" Welf shifted the bag of groceries. He glanced down and spotted a prum in a white overcoat with the hood drawn. She had been minding her own business and trying to remain unspotted when he bumped into her on Southwest Main.

"Mister Welf?" Lilly blinked and looked up enough to acknowledge him. She didn't pull off her hood nor look at him in the eye. "What are you doing here so early in the morning?"

"Fresh produce at a cheap cost," he answered while shifting his bag again. "Fixed a couple things at this mom an' pop store when I was working odd jobs. They let me have first pick. What about you?"

"Lilly was just running some errands," she said quickly. "Lilly is late for an appointment. Sorry."

She went to move.

"Hold on," he said with a growl. "That dirt on your eye or did you walk into the door?"

Lilly stopped moving and flinched. Her hand went up and rubbed the spot under her eye. She had been trying to hide the freshly swelling bruise before he could notice.

"It's nothing," she said and started to move again.

"Like hell it is!" he barked, rushed to her, and grabbed her by her arm. "Tell me who did that, Lilly. What sort of scumbag hits a lady?"

"It's nothing," she spat and retched her arm free. She didn't move away from him this time. "Lilly was… This is something involving Lilly's _familia_. It doesn't concern someone outside of it."

" _Soma Familia_ , right?" he sighed with his anger boiling. "Which one of them was it? The day's still early. I might pay them a visit."

"Mister Welf will only cause more problems for Lilly," she turned around to face him. "You'll also cause problems for your goddess."

His eyes narrowed, "Yeah. She'll chew me out for it. But she'll understand. I'm not the sort of guy to take this lying down. Anyone who hurts any of my teammates doesn't walk away scot free."

"We went into the Dungeon once, Mister Welf," Lilly chided him. "And Lilly remembers it being a scary experience and would never like to do that again. None of this means you are Lilly's teammate."

He growled something while scratching his head with irritation. "So that's how it is, Lil'E? You're right. You don't know me. We can't be considered friends. But you know what? You mean something to Bell. And that's more than enough for me to get involved. If not for your sake, or mine, or even his, then for _Soma Familia_.

"What do you think will happen when he finds out?"

Lilly bowed her head and fidgeted where she stood. Her hands clenched at her front. She knew the answer to that question. She couldn't forget the last time her _familia_ harassed her. He butchered all of them in cold blood. There had been no hesitation in his actions.

Killing them, as much as it would satisfy her emotionally, would not free her.

"Alright look," Welf sighed and released most of his frustrations. He squatted so he could look at her in the eye; though she looked away from him. "I got a little heated there. Why don't we go grab some breakfast or something? Let's talk about what happened and see how I can help you."

"Mister Welf can't help Lilly," she said with dejection. "The only way is if Lilly leaves her _familia_. But to do that… Lilly needs…"

"We'll figure something out," he replied as he stood straight. "We need our Supporter to be in top shape. I promise I'll figure something out even if I have to—"

The words dropped as Welf heard the chime of a bell ring through his skull. As quick as it came did it vanish, traveling further down the road.

He spun sharply on the origin of the sound. His eyes scanned the shops and neighboring buildings. They flicked up as they noticed a singularity in his vision. There was smoke in the sky.

The ringing of this bell sank as deep as his bones. He knew what it was.

"Mister Welf?"

His teeth were grinding. Lilly didn't hear the chime. No one on the street did. But there was no doubt the chime of a Beckoning Bell had been rung. There were only two Hunters Welf was aware of who could have rung it; either that Finn guy from _Loki Familia_ … or Bell.

Given the location of the smoke and what happened last night… it was obvious which of the two had rung it.

"Lilly…" he growled in frustration and apology. "I'm sorry. I promise to get back to you when I can. Take this and run straight to the Guild. Tell them… _Hestia Familia_ is in trouble."

He turned around and handed her his bag of groceries. He felt like shit. He was handing this hurt girl his burdens while he ran off to help Bell. She would understand; he only wished this had happened when she wasn't in need of help.

"M-Master Bell is in trouble?" Lilly looked up at him. "What do you mean? How do you know? What's going on?"

"I'm sorry, Lilly. Just do as I said."

He turned on his heels and dashed down the street, knocking a few people off their feet in his haste. He heard Lilly shout after him, demanding he go back and answer him. He couldn't. Something terrible had happened if someone like the Good Hunter had to have rung a Beckoning Bell. He wasn't the sort of person to ring it by accident— not that it was possible in the first place; the thing relied on intent— nor would he ring it unless absolutely necessary.

Not the Hunter who ended the Dream.

Welf was only cursing himself and his lack of weapons. He didn't have a single sword. He didn't even have his Crozzo pistol.

He'd have to worry about it later. He ran down Southwest Main, turned down the corner and entered one of the subsection streets, and found a clearing onto South Main. He was getting closer to the smoke and the origin of the bell.

"Where is he?"

"Hyakinthos says the bunny ran down Ninth."

"Ninth?! We're only on Eleventh! How are we supposed to catch him?!"

"We go around and cut him off at Seventh. Laon's group will block off his advancement and—"

"Oi," Welf barked.

He came across a group of adventurers huddling together in an alleyway. They spun on him and eyed him with suspicion. He glared back at them.

"What was that about catching a rabbit?" he demanded as he approached them. He recognized all of them as members of _Apollo Familia_ by the golden arrow crest on their chest and weapons.

He could see a clear picture. Apollo commanded his minions to attack the Good Hunter in his own dwelling. The smoke probably belonged to his place. Something like a little fire and numbers wasn't enough to shirk off a Hunter, let alone the best of their trade. There was no doubt Bell could not fend them all off while protecting his goddess. Hence why he rang the bell, hoping for some backup.

If he had a Beckoning Bell and his goddess was in trouble, Welf would have done the same thing. Even if it wounded his pride.

"Who the hell are you?" demanded one of them.

"That's Crozzo of _Hephaestus Familia_ ," another answered.

"The magic sword smith who refuses to make magic swords?" another scoffed.

"Doesn't matter. This doesn't concern you, blacksmith. Go the other way and we'll pretend you didn't bother—"

Welf rushed them in while they were acting all high and mighty. It surprised them only for a second. He only had enough time to smash his fist across the first adventurer's jaw. The rest had time to draw their weapons and come at him as a group.

He disarmed the first one and stole his sword. It was all he needed to overpower the lot of them and smack them around. They were nothing but a group of Level One adventurers. They were cannon fodder to him.

In a matter of seconds were they either knocked unconscious or groaning from the royal beat down. He didn't kill any of them. It would cause too many problems for his _familia_ if he drew blood.

Dismissing them, he tucked the sword into his sash and made his way to through the back alleys towards the point they discussed. They had to have meant Seventh South. Bell must have been trying to aim for South Main and head to the Guild, only to be diverted by _Apollo Familia_ goons.

He was entering his neighborhood now. He knew them well. After a few alleys, a hop over a fence, and a home invasion and leap out of the window, he had found his way onto Seventh South.

"Bell!" Welf shouted.

Coming up the road was the Good Hunter. He was sweating with a crazed look in his eyes; one hand held on to his goddess' as she struggled to run with him while the other held up the Reiterpalasch.

And on his tail were more adventurers.

Welf's eyes widened. Not just _Apollo Familia_ were after him. They had managed to get other groups involved as well. He spotted at least five different crests. One of which had been _Soma Familia_.

Had Lilly known about this? Was that the reason why she was struck by her own _familia_? Had she tried to stop them?

No. She couldn't have. If she knew then she would have warned Welf. The direction she was going before meeting suggested she was heading west. It was neither towards the Guild nor towards Bell.

"Welf!" Bell gasped with relief flashing through his eyes.

He had no time to think on this further. A friend was in trouble. Welf drew the stolen sword and waved for Bell to follow.

"You can't run forever!" one random adventurer shouted. She leapt down from the rooftops with daggers in hand.

Bell sensed her approach. His arm was raised before his head could fully turn to look her way. He brought up the Reiterpalasch, transformed the weapon, and pulled the hidden trigger. The Trick Weapon went off, firing a Quicksilver bullet towards the adventurer. She didn't realize what had happened until a piece of hot metal tore straight through her leather chestguard. Her eyes shot wide as she missed Bell in her landing. She crashed and clutched at her chest.

"Go now!" someone shouted!

"He needs time before the next shot!" another shouted.

Suddenly, the wave of adventurers chasing him rushed faster than ever. They had been anticipating this moment when he couldn't use any firearm.

Not good.

"This way!" Welf barked. He led Bell through an alley, making sure to toss everything in their path across the floor. It won't stop the adventurers chasing them, especially the ones moving on rooftop, but it can at least stall them by a second or two.

They were catching up. Bell withdrew the Evelyn and pointed it behind him. Immediately, every adventurer dove out of the way— some doing so afterwards after seeing their counterparts doing so without a clue. No shot was fired. He had done it to only startle them. It was a tactic that won't work twice.

By some miracle, and some unfortunate blood being shed, they had managed to make their way to his shack. Welf told the Good Hunter to kick open the door— and he did.

"Open the path down!" Welf barked as they rushed in. He slammed the door shut with his shoulder and began to drag the furnishings over to barricade it.

Bell dove to the floor and began to search for the switch he had seen Welf pull only once. It didn't take him long to find it. The secret door leading to his hidden workshop opened.

"Give us the rabbit!" someone on the outside demanded. The door was nearly blown off by some heavy blow. "You have nowhere to run! Surrender him or we burn the place down!"

"Move," Welf pushed the two down the steps. He didn't know how much time he had before they torched his place or stormed through the door.

They made their way to his workshop. Immediately, Hestia collapsed with exhaustion. She sank down and began to pant with heavy beads of sweat. Bell leaned on his knees though he was in better condition than his goddess.

…Sans the cuts, burns, and a few arrows sticking out of him.

"Wolfy? Rabbit?" Tsubaki rose from her stool. She dropped what she was working on and came to them. "What's going on? Why are you all out of breath?"

"Trouble," Welf supplied. "Do me a favor and get those arrows out of him. Healing potions are in the usual spot. I need to break into the escape route."

"That kind of trouble?" Tsubaki's eyes hardened but did as was told. She pulled a few health potions from the emergency kit in the corner of the room and went to Bell. She eyed the damage, snapped off the arrow shafts, and told him to hold still.

Normally, an arrow would have to be pushed through. Arrowheads were designed for penetration in one direction; going out in reverse would do a lot more damage than going in.

But by the miracle of healing potions, Tsubaki had no problems tearing them out. Bell yelped in pain but was soothed quickly when she poured the red liquid on his wounds.

"What is this place?" Hestia asked when she finally caught her breath. Her face soured as she pinched her nose. "It smells. And I don't mean like Hephaestus' place after she's spent days working without showering. I mean it _stinks_."

"Told ya," Tsubaki quipped.

"Bite me," Welf said as he returned. He stopped in his tracks, turned sharply, and went for a neat white box that didn't belong in this gritty place.

It was supposed to be a surprise. A gift from a promise. The novelty wouldn't matter anymore; now was the time more than ever.

"Welf," the Good Hunter looked somewhat relieved but burned with concern. "I'm glad to see you. _Apollo Familia_ —"

"I know," he cut him off. There wasn't time for words. "Listen to me, Bell. Take your goddess through those tunnels. You'll find a path straight to the Guild; I've marked the right tunnels with the Hunter's sigil."

"But—"

The noise upstairs was getting louder. The shouting was becoming more prominent. Their harassers were either getting impatient or were trying to break open his door. The thing was solid steel; but without the bolts, a group of adventurers with a proper ram could break it open. The barricade only stalled them.

"Don't worry," Welf leaned forward and pressed the box into his arms. "I got this. I'll buy you time. The number one thing a man should worry about is saving the girl. Take your goddess to safety. You know what you have to do."

Bell's eyes shone with understanding. There was both the innocence of a boy seeking guidance as well as the hardened stare of a Hunter who knew of the dangers. He nodded.

"Get going," Welf said with finality.

"…Thank you, Welf. Goddess, come on. We'll be safe after this."

Hestia had a look as soon as her eyes flashed towards the escape route. Yes— Welf rolled his eyes— it led into the sewers under Orario. But she took her child's hand and began to follow.

"Thank you, blacksmith," he heard her say with sincerity as they went on.

Welf didn't watch them. He went to what he called his trophy case— which were really just a wall full of failed attempts of Trick Weapons. Oh sure, they'd do marvelous on a regular Hunt, but they wouldn't last against the deeper reaches of the Dungeon.

Still, weapons were weapons.

He pulled the Boom Hammer from the rack. It was a war hammer with a miniature furnace beneath its head. It'll do just nicely.

Making his way towards the stairs, he grabbed his simple Hunter's coat and tri-horned hat. They would offer him all the protection he would need.

He noticed Tsubaki had put on the rest of her clothes and tied her sword to her hip. She was dressed to fight.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"What makes you think I'm going to miss out on the fun?" she quipped back.

"I can get in trouble as an independent," he countered. "You are the captain of _Hephaestus Familia_. If you get involved, the entire _familia_ will get in trouble."

"I think Hephaestus will understand," she said with her eyes hardening. She wasn't going to budge on this matter. "Besides, Wolfy, I have a lot of frustrations to get off my chest. Since a _certain someone_ won't let me vent them out while he frisks with my goddess, I'll just have to use whatever rabble we have upstairs."

He ran a hand through his hair.

"When this is over… I'll take you out for dinner."

"As if you could afford it," she sassed and punched him in the arm.

Together, they made their way up the steps. He gestured for her to stand back as he approached the door.

He slammed the flintlock on the Boom Hammer, igniting the gunpowder within and starting the furnace. With both arms, he brought it back and swung it at the furnishings blocking the doorway.

An explosion erupted outwards, blowing the door and everything blocking it as well as a good chunk of the wall surrounding it. He hefted the Boom Hammer onto his shoulder as he strolled out; Tsubaki followed right behind him.

In that initial strike, he had knocked several adventurers on their asses and rendered a few others unconscious.

While he had been down with the Good Hunter, more adventurers had arrived. This was the full party. He couldn't count all of them; he could only assume more than fifty were here.

"All this just for one person," he grossed.

Some pretty boy with a flamberge stepped up. One of Apollo's stooges based on the crest on his shoulder cape. "You are Welf Crozzo and Tsubaki Collbrande of _Hephaestus Familia_ , correct? Give us Bell Cranel and my _familia_ will turn a blind eye towards yours."

"Don't act all cocky," Tsubaki barked a laugh. "Do you know what it will mean to fight _Hephaestus Familia_? You wouldn't stand a chance."

The guy knew it. But that wasn't his intent. He wasn't here to start a fight with another powerful _familia_.

"I would imagine Hephaestus would lose a lot of her credibility. She swore an oath of neutrality. Yet if she chooses to coddle _Hestia Familia_ … I suppose it doesn't matter. Regardless if you are a Level Five, Collbrande, there is only one of you. You're surrounded and we have experienced adventurers in our ranks.

"Besides… even if you hinder us today, do you think you can protect Cranel forever? Tomorrow, maybe. Maybe even the day after that. A week. A month. How long will you shield him from us? My god is relentless and I will follow his every demand.

"Do you hear that, Bell Cranel? You are a coward! Your friends cannot protect you forever! Come out and face the music! Your only way out is to accept the War Game!"

Naturally, Bell didn't comply.

"I think that's your answer," Welf lifted the Boom Hammer with a toothy grin. "You're trespassing on my turf. Get off or I'll make you."

The pretty boy frowned. He changed the grip on his flamberge. Everyone else followed suit; some clicking their tongues with annoyance while others smiled in glee and excitement. Tsubaki put a hand on her sword.

Tensions rose. Nobody dared to move. As soon as someone did would the fighting start.

But then, chaos erupted.

There came a chorus of gunfire from the rooftops. Riflemen squatted and fired down on the adventurer's flanks; they switched formations with another group of riflemen behind them while they reloaded. The process repeated at least twice.

Others leapt out from the shadows. Welf saw swords, saws, cleavers, bladed claws, and weapons that baffled and amazed him simultaneously. He saw individuals dressed in rags, in coats, in finely pressed Guild attire, and in rich merchant suits. Some were cool and collective while others roared out like beasts hungry for blood.

He recognized them all as Hunters.

"What the hell?!" the pretty boy shouted in alarm. His eyes were frazzled. He tried to make sense of the sudden ambush. He opened his mouth to bark out orders.

A bullet beat him to it. It punched a hole through his jaw and out of the side of his neck. He gagged as he was knocked off his feet.

"…He stole the words out of my mouth," Tsubaki commented in a calm expression, though her eye was wide with confusion and alarm. She was watching the fighting ensue, unsure whether to attack the strangers, be prepared to defend herself, or leave them be.

To call it a fight was a joke. The adventurers didn't stand a chance. Those not belonging to _Apollo Familia_ didn't want to risk their lives against their new opponents and fled. Those who remains were cut down without mercy.

"Were you the one who tolled the bell?" one Hunter asked while the fighting was starting to die down. Welf recognized her as a scholar of Byrgenwerth. Her eyes traced the Boom Hammer briefly, which probably explained why she approached him and not anyone else.

Other Hunters were eyeing him, awaiting his response.

"No," Welf shook his head. "That guy already went ahead."

He was still trying to wrap his head around the idea of so many other Hunters in Orario. He should have known he and the Good Hunter weren't the only ones. Sure, Finn of _Loki Familia_ was one of them. But _this many_ living under his nose? He recognized a lot of them!

"There are more out there," said the fish monger seen on Third South.

"Others are dealing with them," said the animal person who worked the same stall as Hestia.

"It's been forever since I've answered the call of a bell," an unknown said.

"The Hunter of Hunters moves north," said the toy maker from East Main. "She's heading towards Apollo's manor."

The Hunter of Hunters. Welf's throat felt parched.

Bell had just called upon potentially every Hunter in Orario. Welf had heard the call and rushed to assist him. Those present right here had answered his call. And according to one of them, the Hunter of Hunters was moving on her own.

Even Welf had known about the legendary Eileen from the other world. Only… she went by another legend here.

"The Crow?" another Hunter asked. There was a tint of fear in her voice.

"The Crow," affirmed a few others in matching grim tones.

"…What," Tsubaki breathed out. "Wolfy. The Crow? The Crow is still alive? He's… _She's_ on the move?"

"Powder Keg," the same scholar as before addressed Welf. "Where did the one who rang the bell flee towards?"

"…I sent him towards the Guild," Welf answered. He forced himself to calm down. There was nothing he could do about the Crow. And like _fuck_ was he going to try to stop Eileen even if he could. "He rang the bell because his goddess was in danger of getting caught in this."

"Who was it that rang the bell?" someone in aged Cainhurst garb demanded.

The last dregs of battle had ended. The street was soaked in blood. Hunters were drenched in blood. They all looked at Welf with expectancy.

"The Good Hunter," he answered and watched their reactions. Hiding this information was pointless. He did so to discern immediately which of them were friendly or potential foes.

The reactions were missed. Most were in awe; surprise that someone so famous among them would be in dire need. Others were understanding given Welf's explanation. Some were skeptical and didn't believe Welf's answer. And a few had no idea who Bell was and questioned their associates.

The marked the ones who had a flash of anger and remembered their faces.

"We must move," a Church Hunter in black robes said. "The Good Hunter is in need of assistance. Let us clear him a path."

A general agreement was made. The group split apart into their own subsectors. Some took to the rooftops while others took to the streets. The scholar looked at Welf with a silent question; asking him why he wasn't joining them. There wasn't time to give an answer— she vanished to catch up with her appointed group.

The street was full of nothing but cooling corpses.

"…Am I the only one weirded out by this?" Tsubaki asked.

"No," Welf felt like he was about to hurl. "I have no idea what's going on anymore."

0-0-0

When a Beckoning Bell was rung, its chime would only reach as far as the borders of the territory the Hunter used it in. With the territory being Orario, its chime reached all across the city and even as far as the outskirts beyond the wall. The plains and farmlands outside were still considered Orario's territory.

The same could be said about the Dungeon. While the Dungeon could be considered a territory of its own, it was still within the boundaries of the Labyrinth City Orario. And this chime resonated through the walls as though the Dungeon itself was trying to reinforce and amplify the audio on its own.

The chime was heard as far down as the deepest pits.

When a Hunter rang a Beckoning Bell, another would ring a Resonant Bell to respond and assist. But by doing so warranted the ringing of a Sinister Bell and for another Hunter to hunt their party.

Maria did not ring her Sinister Bell. She had been roaming around on the surface, keeping tabs on the daily happenstance of Orario. But she had heard the Beckoning Bell. Though she would not answer the call for help, her only concern was if any of the Hunters in league with Oedon would use this opportunity to use their Sinister Bell.

The Good Hunter was _her_ prey. She will not allow anyone else to have him.

She was not helping, she repeated herself. She was only proving a point. Bell was hers and not any monster, nor Hunter, nor any of these pesky little adventurers were going to rob her of her vengeance.

"Wait! Stop!"

Hence why she cut down another one of these _Artemis Familia_ underlings assisting _Apollo Familia_. This group had intended to intercept the Good Hunter and hail him with their arrows. Something like this wouldn't have troubled someone like him… but given the handicap of protecting another, things mattered differently.

They might have succeeded if she didn't appear.

"No! Not her! Please!"

One girl threw herself on top of her bleeding teammate. The wound was shallow; she will live if they closed it soon enough.

The girl meant to use herself as a shield. Maria paused in her steps; her Rakuyo dripped thrice in the blood of the adventurers. She recognized the signs of a young love.

"Will you take her place then?" Maria asked, pointing the tip of her weapon at the girl.

"Orian, don't," croaked the bleeding girl. "Get out of here!"

Ah, so this was Artemis' star child. Even Maria had heard of her.

"I won't leave her to die," Orian muttered lowly. Her eyes had flicked once to her displaced bow.

"If you fight me, you will die anyways," Maria told her. "And your friend will bleed out. Will you risk it?"

"Then either way she dies if I can't heal her," Orian argued. "Will you cut me down and kill us both?"

"Tell me where I can find Apollo," Maria pressed the Rakuyo to the girl's chest.

"You aim to kill a god?" Orian's eyes widened at the heresy.

"I will discover his location eventually," her retort was calm and unsympathetic. "If not by you then another who will know of his location. If need, I will pursue your goddess and demand the same out of her."

"Leave her out of this!" bravado and rage rose out of the girl. "Apollo is bullying her into this!"

"Then you have all the more reason to tell me."

Orian gritted her teeth. She bowed her head in acceptance. "North Main. In the upper district. You can find his palace. The gates bear his family's crest. He's waiting there for his children to report. Spare us and forgive my goddess. Please."

"Very well," Maria sheathed her weapon and stepped around them. She heard Orian mutter the name of her lover and move to tend to her wounds. Maria paid them no more mind as she moved towards her destination.

0-0-0

Queen Annalise sat down on her throne. The tent acting as her court was the largest in the entire camp, needing to be as both a statement of her authority as well as the convenience to fit an audience of suitable size. It was not as large as her throne room back in the castle, but sacrifices had to be made in the name of transportation.

Thirteen men and women stood around her, poised and still as statues. They were donned in the dark silver armors only permitted by her Royal Guard. An Evelyn was holstered at their lower back while a Chikage rested on their hip. They were there as more of a show of power than as the Queen's final defense. They stood erect while the queen held court, though not a single noble was present.

Two bodies were thrown at the foot of the rug. The High Chamberlain stood behind them.

They were two girls still blooming into maturity. The one with long hair was shaking with fear while the one with short hair held a defiant look despite the circumstances.

"Thou'st seem not to be disposable," Annalise commented as she leaned against the armrest of her throne. "Speak. What are thy names?"

"C-Cassandra!" squeaked the frightened one with the voice of a mouse. "Cassandra Illion!"

The second remained defiant. She glared up at Annalise with no intent of complying.

In unison, the Royal Guard turned their heads towards the girl and rested a hand on their individual Chikage. Such intimidation was nearly inhuman, as was its intent. Cassandra squeaked once more while the other girl reconsidered her position.

"Daphne Lauros," she answered curtly.

"We hath sent the High Chamberlain to investigate the disturbance within thine walls," Annalise began in a neutral tone. "He bringeth thou to our court. Tell us what hast transpired."

"…Are you kidding me?" Daphne snapped. "Your dog attacked our group and kidnapped us! Do you have any idea what this means?!"

"D-Daphne," Cassandra tried to plea with her teammate.

"And why would our Chamberlain do this?" Annalise questioned. "Thou'st scented with sunlight and flame. Ah, thou art pawns of Apollo. I see. What hath Apollo schemed against my husband? Tell me, what hath becometh of Bell Cranel?"

Daphne became still as she mulled over the queen's observations and demands.

"Y-Your Majesty!" Cassandra squeaked again. "Please! You have to listen to me!"

"Cassandra," Daphne's voice was in warning.

"Speak, child," Annalise put up a hand. "What prophecy dost thou have for us?"

Both girls went still again. Daphne's eyes flashed between the queen and Cassandra. Cassandra's eyes widened with disbelief and wonderment.

"It might be," Cassandra's voice was small but audible enough in the tent. "I've had a dream. I tried to warn my god about it but he wouldn't listen to me. I dreamed of the sun high in the sky. But then the white moon came and eclipsed it. The world was dark.

"And when the moon moved away, the sun was gone. And as it claimed the sky for itself, the sky turned red and began to bleed. The droplets that landed onto the earth turned the people into… into monsters. When it was done, the moon descended and became a rabbit. It lived in this realm of monsters… and the monsters fled from it.

"The rabbit has to be Bell Cranel! There is no doubt the sun is my god, Apollo. Something terrible will happen to him and it will trigger a greater catastrophe! Please, if there's anyone that can stop this, it has to be you! If you're really Cranel's betrothed, please convince him to stop!"

The queen was silent. Her lips had thinned as she listened and considered Cassandra's dream. Eventually, she lifted her head towards the High Chamberlain.

"Bring me the soothsayer," Annalise commanded.

Cassandra wasn't sure whether she was being taken seriously, if the queen wanted more specifics, or if she was going to be discarded as a madwoman just like all the others who listened to her.

It was none.

"CASANDRA!" Daphne shrieked and rose to her feet. She tried to lunge. But she was held down by three Royal Guards. Two others crossed their Chikage beneath her neck; the smallest twitch would have her artery severed.

Cassandra didn't know what was going on until she tried to breathe. She began to sway where she knelt. Her hand reached up to her neck and found a gaping slit where her fingers could easily slip through. Blood flowed out.

The High Chamberlain casually brushed her hands aside and brought a golden goblet to her neck. He tilted her head, forcing more blood to flow into it. When no more blood would flow due to her position, he let her drop. The blood flowed further and stained the carpet. He ignored her dying form and presented the goblet to his queen.

Annalise accepted it graciously and sipped on the blood of an adventurer. Only a sip at first as though discerning the quality of a fine wine.

"You bitch!" Daphne screamed and tried to fight. The grip of the Royal Guards was unbending. Tears streaked out of her eyes as the swords at her neck bit into her. "You killed her! She did nothing to you! She answered your question and you killed her!"

Annalise paid her no attention as she continued to drink in the lifeblood of Cassandra Illios. Truly, the blood of those blessed by the gods was a marvelous thing. She had grown exhausted tasting the blood of her own Vilebloods and those Rakian puppets. To taste sunlight and flame was… refreshing.

She let the divine properties flow through her, digesting and enriching her.

"Approach," she said to her Chamberlain. She extended a hand towards him. "Let this reward be thine. Indulge thyself in our tainted blood."

The Chamberlain remained knelt as he accepted her hand and kissed her wrist. His teeth sank into her flesh and dug into the artery. He drank in her blood until she pulled her arm away. He kept his head bowed as he moved away from her feet. He remained on his knees, awaiting further orders.

"Insane," Daphne croaked. "You're all insane. You're not human. You're all monsters."

"Her words concern us," Annalise said as she continued to lazily drink from her goblet. She continued to ignore Daphne's ramblings as she recalled Cassandra's prophecy. "It is our sacred duty to prevent another infestation. Worse, what shall'st become of our husband if he doth giveth to bloodlust? There is also the matter of Apollo to consider."

She sat in silence, swishing her goblet around with practiced grace. Drinking of blood was not so different than enjoying wine. The reason of their practice was where it differed. Swishing of wine aired out the contents and altered the taste. Doing the same with blood only prevented the thicker properties from sinking to the bottom.

"Maketh an example of Apollo," she commanded to the Chamberlain. "Thou must strike before the Good Hunter starts his rule in blood and to warn all other gods what'st to become should'st they cross Cainhurst again. Now go."

The High Chamberlain rose and moved to carry out his orders.

"…We shall have her now," Annalise said to her Royal Guard.

The Chamberlain heard the sound of sobs and the distinct and subtle tearing of flesh on steel as he left. He did not hesitate in his steps nor was he in any rush. He crossed through the camp to reached his rarely used private tent.

His servants were there to greet him immediately. They kept their heads bowed and averted their gaze. He gestured to one corner of the room and they obeyed without an order.

They dressed him quickly and efficiently with no wasted moves. He wore the gauntlets, grieves, and sabatons of the Cainhurst Royal Guard. But instead of the chest piece and cape, he wore a piece of garment that always reminded him of his origins and of his creed.

It was a pressed suit with a shredded cape. It was a holy ornament to his people, not so different from the robes of a priest. It was passed down to him so he would carry on the teachings of the sky burial.

Such beliefs he had betrayed long ago. But he continued to don them to remind himself of where he came from.

Before stepping out of the tent, he donned the faceless helm of the Cainhurst Royal Guard. His loyal Chikage and Repeating Pistol lay at his side.

0-0-0

"Um… This way," Bell said as he found another symbol etched into the stone wall. He held his goddess by the hand and escorted her through the dark tunnels. Their only source of light were the gaps coming from the surface. There were a few times when they were in pitch darkness. He didn't think about asking Welf for a torch.

"Bell, hold on," she told him and pulled his arm.

"Goddess?" he stopped and looked at her. "But didn't you say you wanted to get out of here as soon as possible? I thought you didn't like the smell."

"It bothers me immensely but I think I can put up with it a bit longer," she told him. "Bell, these tunnels don't just lead towards the Guild. Theoretically, you can go to any corner of the city by taking these tunnels."

"Yeah…?" he nodded slowly as he considered her statement. "But where else could we go? Isn't the Guild the safest place in the city?"

She was silent as she considered how to share her next words.

"What if… we take them towards the gates and leave the city?"

Bell didn't have a response. His mind came to a halt.

"Bell, the Guild isn't as safe as you might think," she explained, her head slightly downcast. "Sure, they'll be able to grant us refuge. But for how long? It's not like we can live in the Guild headquarters. I know Apollo; I've known him since we were in Tenkai. He's relentless when he spots something he likes. He won't give up until he has you.

"We can leave the city. We can go anywhere. We can return to the farm you grew up in. Or we can find a new place. Or… we can flee to Cainhurst."

She paused. Her heart ached to say those words. But she couldn't think of herself.

"Goddess, I…" Bell opened his mouth but was unsure of what to say.

"Bell," fierce determination flashed through her as she looked up at him. "I love you. I want to be with you forever. I don't want anybody to take you away from me. But I love you enough to know I can't protect you. I can't pretend. So I'll go wherever you want… even if I have to give you up to someone else. I just want you to be safe… and happy… and I can't promise you either of those things."

Her vision was being blotted by tears. She refused to cry. She refused to look away from him.

"That's not true!" he shouted.

He dropped everything and embraced her. She was stunned.

"Don't say something like that, goddess," he said as he held her. "When Grandpa died… I had nobody. Nobody wanted me. But you took me in goddess when I had nothing to offer. You gave me a home and you became my family. I've never been so happy before in my life."

"But Bell," the tears were threatening to fall again. "We're just a small _familia_. There's nothing we can do against someone like Apollo. The only way he will give up is if we accept his War Game. It doesn't matter how strong you've become, Bell. You're just one person. You can't win on your own. I can't protect you."

He held her tighter. She couldn't see the look in his eyes.

"I won't leave you, goddess," he said. "My home is with you. I won't let anybody endanger that."

He pulled himself free and looked around once more. The path to the Guild was behind him. He was looking elsewhere, down the other tunnels leading elsewhere.

"Goddess, where does Apollo live?"

Her eyes slowly widened as she realized what he meant. "Bell… what are you thinking? Don't. You can't. If you invade his home then there will be nothing I can do to save you. The Guild will be on his side and not even a War Game can relieve that."

"I need you to trust me, goddess," he looked down at her with his heartfelt smile.

She wanted to protest further. She wanted to tell him to escape with her. She didn't want to leave him while he leapt straight into the fire.

But looking at that smile and those eyes. She found she couldn't deny him.

"On North Main in the upper district," she answered. "You'll find the home of _Apollo Familia_ there. He lives with his children. Bell… please be safe."

"I'll take care of everything, goddess," he said with the same smile. "I'll take you as far as the Guild and then I'll be off."

She grasped his hands with both of hers. He picked up the unopened box Welf had handed him and led her through the sewers. They found the markings on the wall that told them Central was right above them. There was a ladder she could climb to break through the streets.

She hugged him once more.

"No matter what, I love you, Bell. Remember that."

He patted her head and embraced her just as much.

"I care for you too, goddess. I'll be back."

He pulled away and hurried down the tunnel. He didn't look back as he vanished into the darkness.

Hestia clutched a fist tight around her aching heart.

"Bell you… dummy. Can't you tell when a girl's confessing to you? Do you not see me the same way?"

0-0-0

"It should be any moment now," Apollo said with an excited smile as he sipped on his third glass of wine. His cheeks were a little rosy. "Hestia should come running any minute to accept the War Game. Mark my words, Nameless Goddess-A."

"That's not funny," snarled the goddess sitting at his side. "You damn well know my name, Apollo. The sooner this affair is over the sooner you'll leave me and my children alone. That was the deal."

"Yes, yes, I remember," Apollo's lips curled into a displeased frown. He gave a dramatic sigh. "Oh Artemis. You're too pretty to surround yourself with nothing but women. You need a real man in your life."

The goddess of the hunt's brow twitched. She chose to not comment any further.

Other gods had gathered at the banquet hall and indulged themselves while they awaited the promised time. Some had followed him from last night's festivities while others showed up in the early morning. Some had brought their children while others had come alone. They made wagers based on the outcome of today's stunts.

"L-Lord Apollo!" cried an adventurer who had stumbled into the hall. He was panting and sweating.

"Fier?" Apollo blinked and sat up. "What perfect timing! Bring me the good news!"

"There is no good news!" the adventurer bellowed. "Most of our men are dead!"

Apollo quickly sobered. He rose out of his seat. "What?! Dead?!"

"The rabbit surprised us," the man went on. "He's stronger than he's supposed to be. And he had help! We were ambushed by multiple parties. We didn't stand a chance! They have Cainhurst projectiles and transforming weapons we've never seen before! But… Lord Apollo…

"The Crow was among them. I came running as soon as I was told. He's on his way here!"

The sheer mention of that accursed name silenced the room. Gods and adventurers both froze where they remained. The temperature in the room dropped.

"…What… HERESY!" Apollo slammed a fist onto the table. His face turned scarlet. "The Crow?! The Crow hasn't been seen in years! If he did not show himself in Monsterphilia then why show himself here?! It's all a farce! A scare tactic! Damn that Hestia! She's willing to use blasphemy to save her child?! And that damn queen… I will break them both for laying a hand on my beloved children!"

"L-L-L-Lord Apollo!" another adventurer stumbled in. Her face was ashen pale. "We're under attack! The rabbit is at the front entrance! The Monterphilia culprit is attacking from the eastern corridor! A Cainhurst soldier is in the southern hall! A-And…

"T-The Crow! I saw him with my own eyes! THE CROW IS HERE!"

What Apollo had dismissed as an impossibility had been resurfaced. It couldn't be dismissed as a communication error from the first messenger. There was now a witness.

The gods in the banquet hall went into a panic. They dropped everything and started to flee from the premises. Some shoved others out of the way while others tried to open the windows to throw themselves out. Their children had their weapons drawn and were watching the shadows as though this heretical figure would jump out at any second.

Apollo sank into his seat. His eyes were glazed.

He didn't know why. But he knew.

The Crow was coming for him.

Something blew open a hole in the wall of the corridor outside. A figure had been launched through the wall, skidded across the floor, and bounced onto their feet.

A second figure came right after it. It moved too fast but the naked eye caught the details of a frayed coat… liken to a pair of feathered wings.

"It's the Crow!" one of the gods shouted in a frenzy.

0-0-0

It wasn't the most dramatic or heroic of entrances like in the storybooks. Popping out of a manhole was more suspicious than heroic. But Bell couldn't complain.

In the sewers, he had opened the box Welf gave him. He never considered its contents until he realized it was still in his care. Since Welf handed it to him then the man must have given it with some sort of intent. Curiosity won him over and Bell opened it up.

He wasn't disappointed. No, he was amazed.

It was a new coat. It was tailored to his size. This was the replacement and upgrade to the Crozzo set. The style was a little different since it had a few more pockets, rolled cuffs, and a shimmery gloss when it reflected the light. The jacket was a dark ashen color compared to the dark brown; no doubt Welf had used the black bone dust from the Monster Rex in this jacket.

Bell wondered what it looked like to wear this as he made his way through Hearth Mansion's open gates.

"What the hell?" someone who was standing guard blinked at him. "Is that… the Rabbit?! How the hell did you get here?!"

The other guard, who had been dozing off from a boring task, snapped awake and adjusted the grip on his spear.

Bell withdrew the Blade of Mercy and split apart the blades. He continued to approach the door without losing stride in his pace. Gone was his smile— something only reserved for his friends, goddess, and precious others. His face was a blank while his eyes were full of bloodlust.

"My name is Bell Cranel," he said in monotone. There was no compassion in his voice. All emotion had been washed away from him. "Today, I join the Hunt."

The two guards blinked at him in confusion.

The first screamed as Bell cut through the spear... and both man's hands. He moved too fast for either of them to react. The second guard dropped his spear and leapt backwards. He fell and continued to scurry away with fear.

Bell dismissed them and gently pushed open the doors as though the mansion were his own home.

"What the hell was that scream?!"

"Reinforcements?!"

"Are we surrounded?!"

"Wait. It's just the bunny!"

He was at the entry, where the mansion held a large open space used mostly for presentation. The floor was marbled, the walls were a dark oak with bright wallpaper lining the upper half of it, and chandeliers hung high above the ceiling.

And around him were adventurers who hadn't taken to the streets. They were in casual clothes but armed with weapons, suggesting they weren't prepared for battle and grabbed what they could in haste.

"The Blade of Mercy?"

"What's that?"

"That… That's the weapon of the Crow."

"The Crow?! Why the hell does the rabbit have it?"

"Wait. Why is he here? What happened to Hyakinthos' party?"

"No… it couldn't be… Could the Crow really be—"

He assessed his situation and acted. There would be no point in asking for Apollo's location. Nothing in the Hunt had ever answered him kindly. This was another area to explore. He will just have to search through every nook and cranny until he found the god.

In the meantime, everything else was an obstacle.

They screamed in alarm, in pain, and in fear when he came at them. He cut those in his way down.

"Wait, wait! I'm just a maid!"

"Fast! So fast!"

"What the hell?! This isn't the power of a rookie!"

"Monster! MONSTER! THE RABBIT WAS THE CROW ALL ALONG!"

"Spare me, Crow! I never wanted to join _Apollo Familia_!"

"Please! I was taken from my previous _familia_!"

"Someone stop him before he gets to— _hrk_!"

"Help! We need reinforcements in… What the hell is going on here?"

A wounded adventurer had come from another hallway while Bell was going through their ranks. He decided that direction was his best bet to reach Apollo.

He carved through that adventurer and rushed down the hallway. No one pursued him. He sensed life up a head. Other adventurers were running around with weapons. But, though he ran into them, they were surprised to see him. They tried to stop him.

He cut them all down and continued on.

It wasn't until he hit a crossroads in the hallways was he unsure of where to go. He heard conflict all around him. He wasn't the only one here who was attacking _Apollo Familia_. Had another _familia_ taken this chance to attack him while most of his children were harassing Bell?

His question was answered in one instance.

Lady Maria stepped out of one hallway. The hem of her dress was splattered with blood and her Rakuyo dripped the red liquid from a fresh incision. She looked surprised to see him but didn't display the emotion other than a sharp and focused look.

The others… he never expected to see.

Stepping out of the adjacent hallway was… Eileen.

There was no mistaking it. She was dressed in her Crowfeather garb. It was as though she had stepped out of the Dream… It was as though she hadn't died at the footsteps of the Grand Cathedral. But instead of her Blade of Mercy— the very weapon in his hands— she wielded a wooden sword.

She eyed him behind her beaked mask. A powerful glare resonated through him. Disappointment as much as praise and relief. She was angry at him. But… she was glad to see him just as much as he was.

Their reunion could not be cherished. Not because of Lady Maria present, no.

It was because of the figure who burst through the door of one of the several rooms running down the main hallway.

Bell recognized him immediately as the Blood Crow of Cainhurst… the very same individual who had killed Eileen back in the Hunter's Dream.

His Chikage held up the dying form of an adventurer through the chest. The Bloody Crow acknowledged all of their presences and flicked the body off of his sword. The faceless helm turned to acknowledge each Hunter individually… before staring the longest at Eileen.

"Don't go near her!" Bell shouted as emotion blazed through him. He _Quickened_ at the Bloody Crow.

The last time he fought against this villain, he had been nothing more than an amateur. He had hardly been introduced to the Hunt when he found Eileen bleeding on those steps. He still had the knife Gehrman gave him at the start of his journey and had barely started to learn how to wield Ludwig's Holy Sword.

This time was different. He held the Blade of Mercy and knew how to use them. He wouldn't be sloppy. He had gone through so much since killing the Bloody Crow. He was more experienced and knew the past Bell was but a shadow compared to him.

When he came at the Bloody Crow, he had expected to overpower this monster in the same way he had overpowered Gascoigne and Henryk.

He hadn't expected the Bloody Crow to meet him head-on with as much ease as before.

The Bloody Crow was faster and his moves more precise. He had grown since his death just as how Bell had grown. He deflected several of Bell's swipes, taking into consideration the sword-catching nooks of the Blade of Mercy, and kicked him away. Bell landed on his back and sprang onto his feet.

The Bloody Crow rushed forward, using his own _Quickening_ technique. He drew back the Chikage and went for a stab while Bell was still recovering.

His aim hadn't been at Bell. It had been to deflect a flank coming from Lady Maria.

The Old Hunter clicked her tongue in agitation and turned her attention towards the Bloody Crow.

It was then Eileen joined into the fray. With the Bloody Crow distracted, she rushed forward in a low crouch and brought her wooden sword around.

The Bloody Crow whipped out his Repeater Pistol and pulled the trigger. Two Quicksilver bullets fired out of the twin barrels. The first deflected her sword while the other pelted against her chest. He pushed off of Maria to give himself space.

Seeing him free and able to attack Eileen again, Bell came at the Bloody Crow. He _Quickened_ forward and brought both parts of the Blade of Mercy around. Silver flashed as they collided against the man's Chikage.

Behind Bell, Eileen pounced on Maria just as the Old Hunter was about to attack Bell. The Old Hunter growled in frustration but engaged with Eileen.

The four of them fought against the other in a pseudo free-for-all. While Maria and the Bloody Crow aimed to kill all of them, Bell and Eileen worked as a team. They supported each other and had each other's backs. Though she did not wield the art of _Quickening,_ Eileen had the skill and experience. There was a spring in her step.

He realized Eileen wasn't hindered from her old age. It meant… whoever she was under that mask was a new identity just as Djura had regained his youth when returning as Welf.

Combined with her decades of experience as the Hunter of Hunters, Bell could not ask for a better backup against these two. Rather, _he_ was her backup in this instance.

He also noticed something was off. The Bloody Crow had been trying in earnest to kill Maria and Eileen. But he never took the chance to deliver a critical wound towards Bell. If anything… he intervened whenever Maria got involved, even disengaging from Eileen to do so.

But then, someone screamed.

Without disrupting their fight, they each spotted an adventurer who had come into the hallway and took off running.

The Bloody Crow delivered a few more blows towards the three of them, found his chance, and kicked Eileen into Bell. He disengaged and went after the adventurer.

"Bell, stop him!" he heard Eileen shout in alarm. She leapt back to her feet to fight against Maria.

In the back of his mind, he recognized the voice. He had heard it before. But the heat of the moment had him listening to her order instead of pondering this triviality. Eileen could not use _Quickening_. She wouldn't be able to catch up to the Bloody Crow. Only Bell could.

He didn't hesitate as he _Quickened_ away. There was no doubt she could hold her own against Lady Maria. He believed in Eileen. The circumstances compared to her death were different.

He caught up to the Bloody Crow just before the man was about to pierce through the adventurer. Bell tackled him, knocking him around and trying to wrestle him to the ground. But the man used the momentum to his advantage and kicked Bell off of him. Bell crashed against the wall but forced himself to recover. He raised his Blade of Mercy, expecting a follow-up attack.

The Bloody Crow didn't go for it. He instead raised the Chikage at Bell in a steady stance.

"Why are you back?!" Bell panted.

The Bloody Crow said nothing.

"Why are you here?!"

Again, nothing.

"Don't tell me… the bell. You're here because of my Beckoning Bell? You… Why did you ring a Sinister Bell if you're not going to kill me? You'll go back if you kill me, won't you? You're just here to fill your bloodlust, is that it?"

"…HyPOcriTe," said the Bloody Crow.

The voice was so impossibly inhuman it should not have been made through any sort of vocal chords. It made Bell shiver.

This shock lowered his guard. The Bloody Crow _Quickened_ and kicked Bell in the chest. The force was so strong he not only had the air knocked out of him, but had been blown off his feet and _through_ the wall behind him. His world shook but instinct took over. Before he could shake the darkness out of his vision, he was back on his feet and in a ready stance.

The Bloody Crow followed after him.

"It's the Crow!" someone shouted.

Immediately after, the Bloody Crow snapped its head to the side and changed its trajectory. He no longer went after Bell. He was aiming for the crowds of gods and adventurers.

Bell _Quickened_ after him. The Bloody Crow spun, deflected Bell's attack, and kicked him once more. For good measure, he flashed the Repeater Pistol and pulled the trigger. Bell was forced to dive to the side to avoid a fatal blow. One bullet still landed in his waist and knocked the air out of him again. But it didn't penetrate through his new coat.

The Bloody Crow landed on top of the long table that had hosted and served the several gods this morning. The only one sitting, staring blankly at the Bloody Crow at the head, was the god Apollo. The god's eyes slowly flew open as the Bloody Crow raised its sword…

…And stabbed through the chest of the divinity.

"BLoOd fOR thE QuEen," said the Bloody Crow… before retching the Chikage out of the god's chest, splashing hefty sums of blood everywhere, and sheathing the blade in rapid succession.

Nobody in the room moved. Adventurers of the other gods stood frozen, petrified in fear as the ultimate taboo was performed right in front of them. It shook everyone to their core.

Apollo's body began to glow, starting at the gaping wound in his chest. Just as Apollo's eyes rolled to the back of his head, the light reached its climax. An explosion of divine colors lit up the room as a pillar of light beamed up towards the ceiling. It blinded everyone.

As quick as it came did it conclude. Apollo was gone.

The Bloody Crow leapt off the table and started to dash away. Not towards the hallways but towards the side windows. The gods screamed and scrambled out of his way. He paid them no mind as he leapt out, shattering through the windows and iron decorative frames. He landed on the iron fence several meders away and leapt up towards the neighboring rooftop of another building.

He was escaping.

"Wait!" Bell croaked as his hand latched onto his side. He forced himself to get up and follow. He _Quickened_ through the room, reached the window in a fragment of time it took for the Bloody Crow, and leapt after him. Instead of taking the same route, Bell managed to make the leap onto the opposite rooftop in a single bound.

The Bloody Crow's head whipped around, sensing Bell's quick approach. He kept running.

Just the same, he sensed someone behind him. When he turned his head, he saw Lady Maria on his trail. And behind her was Eileen.

Do he engage against Maria? Or should he continue his pursuit against the Bloody Crow?

"Hold it right there!" someone shouted… above his head.

They all stopped. When he looked, he saw someone floating in the sky on a pair of winged shoes. He recognized the person as Asfi of _Hermes Familia_ ; she was the moderator for his duel against Bete.

He quickly realized they were all surrounded. Adventurers, properly armed and prepared this time, had arrived on the streets and cut them off at neighboring rooftops. With a quick glance of their crests, they were Asfi's teammates.

Asfi didn't make any demands. Her attention was transfixed on… Eileen.

"The Crow?" she gasped. Her eyes shot towards the Bloody Crow. "Two of them?!"

Lady Maria took this chance to break from the group. She rushed the smallest group of adventurers that was furthest from receiving reinforcements and tore through them. She didn't bother to finish killing them and left them to bleed out. Her priority was to escape.

With her distracting everyone else, Eileen and the Bloody Crow split up. Eileen shot off towards the east while the Bloody Crow headed towards the south. Eileen danced around and whacked people with her sword, effectively knocking them out or disorienting them. The Bloody Crow carved through those he could in the same fashion as Maria.

"After the Crow!" Asfi shouted.

"Which one?" one of the men shouted.

"Both of them! Don't let either one escape!"

"But what about the other criminal?"

"The Crow takes priority. Now move!"

He wanted to follow Eileen. He wanted to pursue the Bloody Crow. But he knew both tasks would be impossible. Eileen would slip back into the shadows and his presence would only endanger her. And the Bloody Crow would only cut down those from _Hermes Familia_ if Bell slowed him down. He was more than quick enough to elude them.

 _Hermes Familia_ was ignoring Lady Maria, however.

Bell spun on his heels and went after her.

"Cranel! Wait!" he heard Asfi shout after him but he ignored her.

0-0-0

"Maria!"

She stopped. He had found her in one of the many alleys close to North Main. The city was in uproar and she was trying to find a space to use her Hunter's Mark to return to… wherever her dwelling was.

"Bell Cranel," she turned to regard him. Her posture was cool but he saw her hand on her Rakuyo. "Shouldn't you be chasing after your maiden or reprimanding the villain? It's not like you to deviate from your heroic expectancies."

There was a cold irony in her voice. The comment was a stab into him.

"Why did you attack _Apollo Familia_?" he demanded. He stopped a few meders away from her. He was close enough to chase after her if she tried to flee while far away to defend himself should she attack.

"For the same reasons as you, I suspect," her tone became mocking. "What happens when anything disturbs the peace? Anything that seems off to you… all you do is cut it down. Someone hurt your goddess and instead of staying at her side and remediating her do you lash out at the cause. Had you left it to other's concern, all your troubles would have been solved.

"But you're too drunk on bloodlust to see that. You weren't aiming at Apollo to defend your goddess, were you? You were looking for an excuse to hunt once more. You're not so different from the beasts and madmen you slaughtered, Bell Cranel."

The grip on the Blade of Mercy tightened.

She turned to walk deeper into the alleyway.

"Someone told me about you," he blurted out. The strange comment had her pausing to glance at him through the corner of her eye over her shoulder. "An Executioner. He said you're not in control of your actions. That everything you do is because of the Doll. Maria… are you trying to kill me because the Doll is making you? Please tell me it's the Doll behind everything."

He saw her frown with displeasure. She turned sharply and began to stride up towards him. Her grip on her Rakuyo had dropped, meaning she didn't have any intent of attacking him. He put the Blade of Mercy away but did not lower his guard. His hands were at his side, ready to draw the Oedon Knife or the Evelyn if needed.

"Do you always believe everything you're told?" she questioned as she bent over. Her face was celches away from his. "It was the ramblings one just as steeped in sin as us who led you to the eldritch truth. It was your blind faith and ignorance that had you committing atrocities both in the Dream, in the Nightmare, and here in your realm. When will you wake from your own delusions?"

Her hands grabbed onto the hem of his coat. Her eyes blazed with something unreadable.

"Tell me, Bell Cranel, if I am of my own will."

His eyes became saucers as she pulled him forward and pressed her lips against his. He had no idea what he was supposed to do in this case. Was he supposed to push her off or kiss her back?! This was his first kiss. And it was being given by _Lady Maria,_ the woman who had been trying to kill him since he returned to Orario.

With enough time passed, Maria shoved him away. He fell onto his rear and remained there, stunned and confused beyond comprehension. She turned away, pulled out the Hunter's Mark, and proceeded to the deeper regions of the alleyway.

"Do not let some fool kill you before I do, Good Hunter," she said before vanishing.

Bell remained sitting there, blinking on occasion as his eyes stared at the spot Maria had been standing previously. His mind was haywire with too many thoughts to follow. Not even he knew what he was thinking.

It wasn't until a nearby clock tolled, telling the pedestrian it was noon, did he return to reality. His hands latched onto his head and he screamed.

"I'M SO CONFUSED!"

0-0-0

"Bell! You're safe!"

His heart was relieved when he entered the Guild and saw his goddess sitting comfortably at one of the conference booths. In her company was his advisor Eina, Welf and Tsubaki with the Goddess Hephaestus, and, surprisingly enough but welcoming, his Supporter Lilly.

Hestia fired off of her seat as soon as he saw her and wrapped her arms around his waist. He laughed lightly as he patted her head.

"I'm back, goddess," he said softly. "Just like I promised."

The others came to greet him. Stories were exchanged to fill up the gaps created in each other's parties. Bell was stunned a minor civil war had broken out throughout the city. What's more… Welf told him they weren't the only Hunters in the city. Welf and Tsubaki took turns explaining what happened after he left.

"I see you're wearing the new duds," Welf said with a praising smile. "Looks good on ya!"

"It saved my life," Bell praised him back. "It survived a lot of blows compared to the last one. The Crozzo II set is amazing."

"Glad to hear but that's not what I named it," Welf shook his head with a laugh. He pulled out a toothy smile. "I called it the Cranel set. It's the only one of its kind, completely tailored to fit your size and style of fighting."

Bell's smile could have powered the lights in the building.

Eina was the one most furious at him; telling him how foolish he was to leave his goddess in order to try and settle the affair with Apollo on his own.

The excuse Hestia used was: he split off from her to distract those chasing after him so she could reach the Guild safely. And then he would make it straight for Apollo to try and talk some sense into the god.

But news had spread fast. By the time he arrived at the Guild did everyone learn _Apollo Familia_ was attacked by an unknown party. Rumors spread around on who the culprits could have been. Some say it was Lady Maria; others the Crow had come back from hiding (or the dead in some cases); or Cainhurst had invaded Orario. They were all right.

"Either way we can't get a clear picture," Eina explained. "Those present at Apollo's mansion have barricaded themselves in their _familias_ ' home. The entire city is in lockdown. Bell, can you tell me what really happened?"

He scratched his head. Maybe more than enough time had passed than he had originally considered. He spent too much time mulling over the meaning behind Maria's kiss— just as much painful focus as one would over the meaning of life. Either way, his conclusion was empty.

"It's true," he answered in a plain voice. He looked at Eina dead-on. "God Apollo is dead. But I wasn't the one who killed him."

Everyone stiffened.

"Bell…" Eina fixed her glasses. She gave him a concerning look. "Nobody is accusing you of killing a god. You shouldn't have to be—"

"Excuse me," the voice of Asfi cut them off. She approached the booth with several adventurers following behind her. They all had mixed emotions as they stared intently on Bell. All of which were negative. Asfi was the only one who looked unsure.

"What can we do for you, Miss Andromeda?" Eina asked with a careful tone. "What is the meaning of this?"

Asfi held a grim tone as she spoke. "Bell Cranel, I am sorry for doing this. But by the power vested in me through the Guild, I am placing you under arrest."

"WHAT?!" Hestia burst out of her seat. "O-On what charges?!"

"B-But I didn't kill Apollo!" Bell blurted out. "All the gods there can tell you!"

"Bell sit back down and shut up," Welf growled at him.

Asfi waited until they were silent. "You are under suspicion for the murder of Goddess Brynhildr, Goddess Tiamat, and Goddess Kali. Please come with us."

"…Eh?" Bell blinked.

"Those three…" Hephaestus spoke up. "Those three were murdered by the Crow. Are you accusing Bell of being the Crow? What proof do you have? Who issued the warrant for his arrest?"

Her accusation gained the attention of everyone in the Guild.

"Royman Mardeel signed for it himself," Asfi answered immediately, flashing a signed document handed by one of the adventurers behind her. "I'm afraid I cannot share anything further with you, Goddess Hephaestus. Everything at the moment is confidential in our investigation."

"B-But you were there!" Bell stood up to defend himself. "Miss Andromeda, you saw Ei— the Crow flee. You know I'm not her!"

Asfi blinked at the familiarity of his words but shoved all other telling in her expression away. "That may be so… But there was also a second Crow sighted at the scene. My testimony holds little weight when compared to the word of several gods.

"They've all confessed you were the only one who wielded the Crow's weapon, the Blade of Mercy."

Bell fell back in his seat as he realized what this all meant.

"Please come with me. I do not wish to use force. Comply and we can be lenient in your handling. It's the best I can do in your case. I'm sorry."


	18. Chapter 18

**A note from the author!**

Right, so, first off, I would like to thank Oslight for TWO marvelous drawings depicting scenes from the previous chapter. The links are on my profile. Remember to follow the directions and NOTHING ELSE. Copy, paste, delete the space, and enter. That's it. No [World Wide Web] or... whateve stands for. I can't remember. Anyways, do that and you're golden. And if it still doesn't work... I've no clue what else to do.

Oslight, you're still a boss.

Next, I would like to say I DO NOT respond to private messages that ask me for spoilers. So PLEASE stop asking me if Bell will wind up with Character X, or if he's going to get this weapon or that, or what's going to happen in the next chapter. Oh. Especially don't ask me when the next update is. It's annoying and I'm the sort of petty person who puts it off out of sheer spite. So don't be that one (sixteen, actually) guy.

Thank you.

In regards to this chapter... I took a few liberties. I won't deny it. I may have stretched them too. But such is fanfiction!

Now, if I managed to do everything correctly, the next chapter SHOULD be the end of the Cainhurst Arc. At least according to the totally sketchy storyboard that I may or may not scrap and redo depending on your input. Either way, this current chapter is a lot of exposition, some set up, and then action!

Last... I set up a particular account. Further details are at the bottom of the page.

ON WITH THE SHOW!

* * *

Hestia gulped. A bead of sweat rose from her brow as her heart raced. Right now was the most crucial part of her life. Her child's life depended on it. She couldn't afford to make any mistakes. She couldn't appear to be weak. This was one of those rare moments she took everything seriously— as seriously as she once did when a full goddess back in Tenkai.

Her hair was straight as she wore a plain and modest white dress with a blue cowl around her shoulders. The hairbands used to tie her hair— gifts given from Bell— were wrapped around her wrist. She walked briskly with her head up high.

She was being escorted by two adventurers of _Ganesha Familia_ , her appointed guards while she remained under a glorified house arrest. They walked without sharing a word through one of the palaces owned by the Guild. It had been used previously to host the Gathering but was now used for something vastly more important.

Denatus. It was similar to the Gathering of the Gods. Sure, the gods drank and partied it up. But this was more of a meeting most gods attended in order to manage the political side of their _familias_. It was held once every three months with the purpose to debate current and new policies as well as to obtain titles for adventurers who have ascended to Level Two.

Hestia had yet to step foot into the main chamber when she knew the atmosphere was grim and heavy. This Denatus was sober. While there were many things needing to be discussed, there took one topic that had gathered the attention of every god in Orario.

Today would hold the trial of her child.

"Take, is that you?" Hestia looked up as she walked through the garden that eventually led to the grand chamber.

The god from the Far East had been walking at a slow and steady pace compared to her urgent quick steps. He turned around and looked down, offering her a kind smile. "Ah. Hestia. It's good to see you again."

There was something laced in his voice. He had hesitated in his choice of words and used something polite. His eyes had flicked up to regard the two adventurers accompanying Hestia.

"I wish that were true," she sighed. "I'm sure you've heard the news. I can't imagine who hasn't."

"…It's not true, is it?" Takemikazuchi asked with a guarded expression.

"Absolutely not!" she stamped her foot down. "Bell is not the Crow! I'm here to prove it!"

He nodded, his expression softening. "If that is what you say then I will believe you. You have my support."

"Thank you, Take. You don't know how much that means right now."

"I can imagine you will need as many allies as possible. I've no doubt Miach will also be doing everything he can. Just know… for merely being accused will you have the spite of every other god there is. The fear of the Crow is still fresh after all these years."

"I've noticed…" Hestia scratched her cheek as she recalled all the slander both gods and children had given her for the past few days.

"I'll take her from here, thank you," Takemikazuchi glanced at the adventurers. "Children are not allowed in the Denatus. I will take full responsibility if she chooses to run."

"…We do not doubt your words, God," one of them responded carefully. "But we have our orders. We are to leave her at the entrance and retrieve her to take her back to the Guild dormitories once her matter is settled."

"I understand," Takemikazuchi nodded with pressed lips. He held an arm out for Hestia; she took it and the two of them walked at a leisurely pace towards the chamber. He noticed Hestia's rattled nerves despite how calm her outward appearance was.

They walked together until they stood before a pair of massive double decker doors. The two adventurers bowed and went to stand at each door side. They would remain here and wait once Hestia was ready to leave.

"Are you ready?" Takemikazuchi asked.

"No," she confessed. "But I need to be. For Bell."

They took a step forward. The doors opened as though anticipating their arrival. And as though their particular pair stepped forward under a thunderous trumpet ensemble, the head of every divinity turned to observe them. The sneers and gossip spread immediately. More than enough times did they hear the curses directed towards Hestia.

The group of gods departed as though Hestia were a plague. She had no problems reaching the front of the assembly.

The chamber used during the Denatus was spacious enough to host every god in Tenkei. Though there was standing room at the front entrance, lined against both adjacent walls were lavish velvet seats set up in ascending rows liken to a theatre. But at the furthest wall, which took the center stage, was a high counter with seven seats and a throne.

Four of the seven seats resided a god, the oldest of their kind who were among the first to descend into Genkai and set up the rules of the gods' game. These gods had given up their rights to participate and have _familias_ in exchange for having jurisdiction for the Denatus. But three were empty as well as the throne.

The four were Vishnu, Ea, Izanagi, and Hades.

They had each spotted Hestia. Without looking at another, a universal agreement was made.

"Your request has been denied, Pluto," Hades said.

At the front of their counter stood a podium. A small god, no taller than Hestia, stood atop of a booster as she pleaded her case. She slammed her hands against the wooden railing, "Why not?! I've been good for these past seven centuries! I have three children that the Guild won't accept! Why won't you let me have a _familia_? I deserve to know the answer!"

"Because," Izanagi paused to take a breath of air. His eyes were flat and annoyed. "Like every time you plead your case, you _cannot_ perform the falna ritual. Now move away. Your time is up."

Pluto grumbled curses under her breath as she gathered the files sprawled across the podium's desk into a manila folder and hopped down the booster. She eyed Hestia as she marched on and said, "Good luck," in a rather venomous and sarcastic tone. She left the room after that.

It was at this moment did Hestia realize she had left her notes back in the Guild dorm. She thought she had everything. But she forgot the most crucial part!

"Goddess Hestia," Ea announced in a booming voice. "Approach."

The entire assembly fell deadly silent. All eyes were on her. She braced herself as she approached and climbed onto the podium. She didn't feel any embarrassment for needing the booster to peer over the podium's edge. Really. She didn't.

"Do you understand the charges placed on your child, Bell Cranel?" Vishnu began, his voice light but no less severe than his associates. "The murder of seventy-two mortals and three divinities, the possession of illegal arms, false identification, false status records, and association with wanted criminals?"

Hestia blinked. Her hands clenched against the railings, "I understand my child is accused of being the mass murderer known as the Crow. However, I do not understand some of those charges. What do you mean by false information and false status records?"

"Do not try to pretend, Hestia," Hades' brow furrowed. "We have seen what is written on his back in your poor handwriting. You have Cranel registered to the Guild as a Level One. But upon investigating his status… he is truly a Level Seven."

Hestia gasped. How long had it been since she updated his status? The last time she checked… Bell was still a Level One newbie. Sure, his status had skyrocketed with several categories reaching as far as SS-rank. But to shoot wholesome _Levels_?! That's not how excelia worked! Bell would have had to have gone through _seven_ adventures in order to reach that high of a level!

…Her heart froze. She recalled the moment the other night with the Doll. That creature's hands were over Bell's, using her Arcanum on him. Had that been what Bell told her, the ritual of transferring Blood Echoes similar to the falna ritual? Had the Doll updated his status then and there?

Regardless, anything she said about that would be used against her. They would discredit her. There was no way she could prove the Doll had been trying to steal her child or had access to her miracles. They would scoff at her.

"What about the false identification?" she demanded.

"Our investigation has uncovered evidence the identity of Bell Cranel is assumed," Ea responded.

"That's absurd!" she blurted back. "What proof do you have?! Bell has always been Bell for as long as I've known him!"

"Ah yes," Izanagi's brows shot up. His eyes twinkled as though finding the perfect chance to deliver a killing blow. "You have been a _familia_ for no more than four months. You registered to the Guild at the start of winter. Did you know about Cranel before acquiring him?"

"Bell grew up with his grandfather in a small farming village just over the mountains," she defended. "It's written in the Guild archives. I've sent a messenger to fetch someone from that village. They'll tell you everything about Bell! Including how he lived in that village while the actual Crow did its work here."

She thought she had them. She gave a challenging smirk.

They matched it in kind.

"We anticipated your manipulation and dispatched a messenger of our own," Izanagi spoke more. "We could not afford for you to bribe any common folk to confess a fantasy. But upon return, the messenger told us none from that village had heard of anyone matching Cranel's description."

She stiffened. This… this was unfair. They were purposely weaving their own story. She understood immediately they had no intention of seeking justice. They were against Bell entirely. They didn't care if he was the actual Crow or not. But… why?

"That doesn't change the fact Bell is still a growing boy," Hestia shot at them. "He's only fourteen and aging!"

"Have you _seen_ him age?" Vishnu asked with a deceptively curious tone. "The boy wields no documentation. We have as much reason to believe he possesses prum blood in his veins just as he is a pure human as you claim on that alone. But given his remarkable status… something of that worth takes a considerable amount of time to achieve. If he were truly as young as you claim, he would not have had the time in his life even if he started at birth."

"That's because…" she was gritting her teeth. "Bell isn't a normal child. He…"

She hesitated. What does she tell them? That he was abducted by some sort of alien deity from another dimension? Even among gods… that story was too farfetched.

"He…?" Vishnu drawled out, challenging her to defend him.

"If you've read his status… then you've seen his list of skills," she said. This had been a secret she planned to keep but… it was pointless now. " _Relise Freese._ It's a unique skill that boosts the amount of excelia he acquires. The strength behind the skill can also increase."

Izanagi snorted, "Are you saying because of this one skill Bell Cranel was able to reach his current Level in the span of a single season? Supposing this were true, a child needs more than just excelia to achieve their strength. They must also go on an adventure. Do you have any proof Cranel overcame death and peril seven times?"

"I wasn't there!" she leaned as far as she could on the podium. "You know gods aren't allowed in the Dungeon!"

"Testimony of a third party would suffice," Ea announced. " _Someone_ must have seen Cranel defeat a powerful monster on his own or overcome a perilous trial. Regardless, the fact he never claimed any of these things only hurts his case."

"Hestia," Hades breathed out. "Do you have any proof to dissuade this evidence?"

Her hands were clawing against the railings. If she weren't wearing gloves, her fingernails would have carved into the wood. "The evidence is on his back. His personal skill should be enough."

"Power is one thing," Ea stated. "But experience can only come with time. The affair of the Cranel and Loga duel tells us he has the skill to hold back and match Loga in combat. Bete Loga has been an adventurer of two _familias_ for the span of a decade. Tell us how a child with only a few months of experience can match that of a veteran."

She wasn't there to see the duel. She only heard from those who told her about it when they walked by her stall. She had told Bell to lose gracefully in order to hide his abilities. But he didn't. And now was it all being used against him.

"Bell's grandfather!" she blurted out, desperate at this point. "He taught him everything! He learned how to fight from that old man before coming to Orario!"

She knew every god in the room was giving her a flat look. They read through her bullshit.

"…I believe we've already established you knew nothing about Bell Cranel prior to the formation of your _familia_ ," Ea said heavily.

"Children can't lie to gods!" Hestia huffed. "He told me all about himself and never once did he lie to me!"

"No, but gods can lie to other gods," Ea countered bluntly. His eyes hardened. He had no hesitation in calling Hestia a liar. "Enough of this. Do you or do you not possess evidence to prove Bell Cranel's innocence?"

"Where is _your_ proof?!" she countered.

"That is not what I asked," Ea snarled.

"No but I'm asking this!" she straightened her shoulders and met him dead in the eye. "All I've heard is you say Bell is a strong adventurer. I can't deny it. He is as strong as you say and I hid this from everyone. Punish me all you want for that. But where is your proof Bell is a murderer? The only people he's killed were those goons from _Apollo Familia_ , and that was in the name of self-defense! He also wasn't the one who killed Apollo; some of the gods here can attest to that! The Crow's identity has been a mystery for years! What makes you think my Bell is that person?"

For a moment, the room was silent.

It lasted for only a single breath.

"The Blade of Mercy," Vishnu's soft voice was grim. "Those who witnessed the Apollo Incident have testified Bell Cranel was in possession of the same unique weapon by the Crow. There is no other like it; none else have been able to forge its heretical god-slaying properties. The weapon we've confiscated is the exact same. This has been confirmed by Uranus himself."

It was the most damning of evidence. How could she have forgotten about something like that? Hephaestus had warned her. Hestia told Bell repeatedly to keep it hidden for this exact reason.

"T-That weapon wasn't originally his!" she tried anyways. "It was given to him by the real Crow! We received an unmarked package at our doorstep!"

This story… it would still condemn Bell. But it was better to be an associate to a murderer than it was to be the actual murderer. If the punishment couldn't be avoided at this point, then she would at least minimalize it.

"Prove it," said Hades in a final tone.

She couldn't meet his demand. The box that it had come in as well as the message… _Apollo Familia_ had burned it down along with the church and every possession they had within.

She was shaking. She looked around in desperate search for an answer as though it were floating in the room. Her eyes met with several gods. She found her friends among the sea of damnation.

"There are others here who can testify on Bell's behalf," she was on the verge of crying. She knew she was losing a fight she could never hope to win. "They can tell you all about Bell. He's not what you think! He's not a monster! He's the nicest person you'll ever meet!"

"Can they provide us with the proof you lack?" asked Izanagi, his voice falling into a bored tone.

She couldn't speak. She was out of options.

"I believe we've heard enough," Ea announced as he looked at his peers. "Do we have a verdict?"

"Guilty," Hades was the first to announce. He made sure to stare at Hestia.

Her heart froze.

"Guilty," said Izanagi next.

"Guilty," Ea said.

"Guilty," Vishnu said. He lowered his head as though to offer a prayer.

Hestia's knees were shaking. She clutched against the railing to remain standing. Guilty. Bell was found guilty. There was nothing she could do. What evidence and claim she presented had been sent back into her face or disregarded.

Her eyes found Hephaestus. The goddess of the forge, who wielded the second Blade of Mercy locked away in her vault as well as another Hunter in her _familia_ , had remained silent. She didn't come to Hestia's aid. Presenting these things might not have proved Bell's innocence entirely, but it might have helped. It might have opened an opportunity to find a flaw in their twisted logic.

Hephaestus averted her gaze.

Now came the part Hestia feared the most. What will they do to Bell? His crimes were too severe. She doubted they would be willing to banish him or force her to seal his status. But she prayed for it. _Prayed_ like how the humans from the Ancient Times would to her. Bell's dream would be gone forever, but at least…

"The punishment for these crimes is death," Vishnu lifted his head and announced. "Hestia, for harboring a wanted fugitive, your _familia_ will be disbanded and you will be banished from the city. All in favor?"

"I," declared an orchestra of gods.

Hestia was losing her strength.

"All opposed?" Vishnu said in an obligatory tone.

"I," said a very small number of gods. She recognized the voices of Takemikazuchi, Miach, and Hephaestus. But, what surprised her were the voices of Hermes, Loki, and… Freya.

Freya's displeasure could be seen by everyone. Her voice of protest alone held as much gravitas as the four who decided Bell's fate.

Yet, it wasn't enough. As influential she was… she had no power here.

"Very well," Ea said grimly. "The sentence will be carried out at dawn. The next order of business would be to choose an executioner for—"

"I volunteer my child!" one god shouted.

"Bugger off! Mine is stronger than yours!" shouted another.

"I've been around longer than most of you! My child should do it!"

"Brynhildr was my sister! It's only justice that my child should do it!"

"Yeah?! Well, Tiamat was my wife! My _familia_ will do it!"

Hestia could no longer hear them. They argued over who would get the prestige of killing her Bell. Her precious child. The one person she loved more than anything in the world.

She lost strength. She collapsed to her knees. The tears flowed out of her eyes as she stared at open space.

They were going to kill Bell.

She saw it in the corner of her eye. Hermes was on the move. He was heading towards the exit in haste. He pushed gods out of his way as though something were chasing him.

She followed. She was no longer the center of attention. The gods and their selfish desires were too lost in argument. She was ignored as she pushed and shoved her way through the riot to catch up to Hermes.

"Hermes!" she cried out as soon as she burst through the doors after him. Her wardens were surprised momentarily but had the reaction to catch her. "Hermes, wait!"

Hermes, already several meders away from her, stopped in his tracks. He bowed his head while pulling down his feathered hat. She couldn't see his face but knew from his body language he was just as frazzled as she was.

"Hestia," he turned and took a few steps towards her. His expression was somber and pressed. "I don't have much time."

"I need something," she said quickly, almost frantically. "Can you…"

She paused as she glanced at the adventurers still holding onto her. They looked back at her, exchanged glances with each other, and decided to release her. It allowed her to step up towards Hermes but she had to keep her voice low. The adventurers were still within earshot on the chance she tried to book it. Hermes bent down to hear her.

"Can you get a message to Cainhurst?" Hestia spoke as quietly as she could.

This was her absolute last resort. She no longer felt the pain of asking another woman for help. She knew Annalise would step in without hesitation. Hestia was willing to go this far to save Bell's life. Even if anyone found out and she was forced to return to Tenkei.

Hermes' eyes narrowed. He didn't say anything for a moment. He stood on his own and adjusted his hat. "Hestia… I know what you're going to ask. It's already out of my hands."

"B-But…" she pleaded. "Bell…"

"News of his arrest has already reached Queen Annalise," he said flatly. "Someone from the Guild went to demand answers seeing as one of her own done in Apollo. Her response was a note with some fancy words… and the head of the Guild messenger.

"She demands Orario release _King Cranel_ or she will declare war. Asking for her help, Hestia, will only get you into more trouble."

With that, Hermes gave a slight bow before spinning on his heels and rushing away. He was on the verge of running with how quick his steps were.

The words he shared with Hestia… gave her the flicker of hope she needed.

Even if it meant the city as she knew it would collapse into rubble.

0-0-0

"…Why didn't you say anything?" Welf asked his goddess. His tone was stoic but his eyes were blazing. He was trying to hold himself from being irrational.

For the time being, it was just him and Hephaestus in her office. She told him everything that transpired at the Denatus. She watched him pace around the room.

"Because it wouldn't have changed anything," she answered simply. "All I would present are a few variables; the existence of a second Blade of Mercy, which means the weapon can be duplicated, and the fact I've also been lying about your status. If I were to put you up as evidence and claim you were a Hunter from a dreamscape, they would have discredited it immediately. At worst, I would have endangered you and made matters worse."

Welf stopped his pacing to press himself against the back of her guest chair. His fingers drummed against the head as he glared daggers at the cushion. Her words made sense to him. She had been looking out for her _familia_ and her children.

However… in order to protect everything of hers, including him, she had to abandon her dear friend. While Welf understood her reasons, it didn't go well with his morality. Especially when the man being put to death was the man Welf owed his life to.

He wouldn't be in Orario with his goddess if it weren't for the Good Hunter.

"Welf… don't do anything irresponsible," she gave him a stern look. There was something pleading in her tone, subtle and intimate. This was the tone as both his goddess and his lover. "I know how much he means to you, but you can't be reckless. There are people who care about you."

He stood straight and crossed his arms, "It's not me you should worry about. I'm not the only Hunter indebted to Bell. You should have seen them. A platoon of Hunters answered his call. There might be even more in the city. And if I'm thinking about rioting at the execution block, I guarantee I'm not the only one."

The thought had occurred to her. Her lips pressed into a fine line. Welf and Tsubaki had told her about the Hunters who had flanked Apollo's best. They all bore Trick Weapons and firearms, things no adventurer in Orario was in possession of. What's more, not all of the Hunters were even adventurers. Welf had claimed some of them were common merchants and Guild employees.

"How bad is it?" she asked. "Are we on the brink of a civil war?"

"I doubt it," he said. His grim expression never changed. "Even if there is one Hunter in every _familia_ in all Orario, and also assuming they all came together to fight for Bell, I doubt civil war will happen. But that doesn't mean some serious damage won't happen. There will be a lot of deaths on all sides. It'll definitely be a day to remember."

"Security will be stretched thin within the city," she muttered. "Now that Cainhurst is threatening with war, the major _familias_ are on high alert outside the walls. We aren't prepared for any insurgence on the inside."

Welf growled something under his breath as he brushed a hand through his hair. He shifted around in his stance for a moment. "We can warn the Guild, but how likely are they to believe a group of non-adventurers will overpower their blessed chosen?"

"I'll see what I can do," Hephaestus' one eye narrowed. "In the meantime… what about you? Welf, I don't want you to be there."

He understood her concerns. Nevertheless, his brows furrowed and he answered boldly, "You know I can't do that. I have to be there. I need to see this with my own eyes."

"And the fact you will be armed means you'll only be watching?" she asked with sarcasm. She read straight through him.

He remained silent.

"Dammit, Welf," she rose out of her seat. "I don't want you involved in this! Do you understand he is being executed as the Crow? If you do anything to help him escape, you will be punished just as severely! I don't want to lose you!"

They stared at another. Her glare was fierce. She would never break into tears— that wasn't the type of woman she was. Her eye burned with a fire deeper than any forge. This was full of her love and told him how precious he was to her.

His stare matched hers. He loved her. Truly he did.

But his eyes were unflinching, unbending. While hers raged like the hottest of forges, his were tempered like the finest of steel. They complimented each other, which was what brought this attraction towards another. But in this case…

"I wouldn't be here… with you, if it weren't for him," he said in a low voice.

Her body tensed. She said nothing for the longest time.

"…I see," she said in a small voice. She pressed her hands against her desk.

He wanted to go to her. He wanted to hold her and tell her how much he loved her. But to do so would cripple his resolve. His mind was already made up.

"I'm going now, Hephaestus," he told her. "You can tell them I acted independently."

She sat back down in her chair. She had difficulty looking at him. She said nothing else as he gave a cordial bow befitting of a child to their goddess and left her office.

It wasn't until she knew he was out of the building did she bury her face in her hand.

0-0-0

"…Who the bloody hell is KingCranel?"

"I know very little. He is just some brat the queen fancies. I've heard from the Orario peasants he is an adventurer of an insignificant divinity. And… the queen has announced him as her betrothed."

"What's this? Surely you don't mean he is the Queen Consort? Well, I suppose even Her Majesty has her needs. But from what country does he hail from? What land does he rule over?"

"No, sister, Her Majesty has explicitly announced him as _King of Cainhurst_. I was the one who delivered the message to Orario."

"What madness is this? King? _King?!_ One cannot simply bear the crown and declare themselves _king_! Only those whose blood is as pure as the queen's may sit at her side. That is the dream of every Knight, not some foreigner! Who is this child and how dare he deceive our queen!"

"…There may be some truth. Her Majesty summoned us to her court while the High Chamberlain presented her two adventurers. One of them uttered a prophecy the queen did not ignore. It spoke of Cranel spilling blood and bringing forth a plague of beasthood that would consume all the land."

"Then… this stranger possesses the blood of the ancients? A different strain of the Great Ones' blood with as much potency as Her Majesty's? If that is true… then our worst fears are upon us. Brother, what would our ancestors say? Generations of careful breeding and slaughter of kin has brought one of our own to the Royal Guard. It is you who is destined to become king. But if this trespasser grants the queen a child of blood… everything we sacrificed will be for naught."

"I am well aware of this. This is why I've sought your council. What am I to do?"

"Do? You know what you must do."

"…To do so would betray the queen. I have taken a vow. One that cannot be easily broken. It rules me as thick as the blood in my veins— _her_ blood."

"The King of Cainhurst must come from _Cainhurst_. How are we to follow the rule of some outsider? The queen is too transfixed in whatever that boy used to seduce her. She can no longer see what truly matters. That is where you belong, brother. As her Royal Guard, you are to protect the queen from any and all threats. Even if it means you must protect the queen from herself."

Long silence.

"Thank you, sister. I now know what I must do. You are right; the one who must rule must be of Cainhurst. And there is no one better to rule than one who is always at her side… someone from the Royal Guard."

"You, brother. Now go. For the Honor of Cainhurst."

"For the Honor of Cainhurst."

0-0-0

"And that's how it is," Hermes concluded telling the girls what happened at Denatus. Gone was his jovial appearance. He really hated being the bearer of bad news… despite being forced to as a messenger god since his conception. He especially hated it when it made a fair maiden cry.

He had gone with Asfi to the Benevolent Mistress. He had wanted to speak with Lyu Lyon in private. But since she knew they were going to be talking about Bell Cranel, Lyu had insisted the girl Syr accompany them. He couldn't refuse, not when his sources had confirmed how close she was to Bell.

The poor girl was at the breaking point.

"They're going to kill him?" she asked in a small voice. "But… why? They have to know he's not…"

The real Crow, Lyu, shifted where she stood.

"The gods aren't concerned about whether he is or not," Hermes said with a heavy frown. "All they care about is being able to rest easy again. They're not willing to look deeper into the facts, only what's presented to them on the surface. It generally leads to Bell being the Crow; even if it's not correct, it's more than enough to convince them."

"Lyu…" Syr looked up at her friend. "Isn't there anything you can do? Anything?"

"…I have considered it already," the elf responded crisply. "The only way to prove his innocence is for the actual Crow to reveal themselves. But I am no longer in possession of the Blade of Mercy— the ones Bell previously wielded are still with Hephaestus while the ones I gave him are now confiscated by the Guild. But even if I could…"

"It's exactly what they want," Asfi finished the thought. "It's a trap. They're using Mister Cranel as bait to lure out the real Crow."

Lyu nodded, "The gods I killed were a part of Evilus. But there are still those affiliated with that group I could not uncover. They went into hiding and have been eluding me since."

"They've been biding their time," Asfi added on. "Even we have had difficulty keeping tabs on their actions. But, given your involvement at Hearthstone Manor, they are taking advantage of this opportunity. They know you are connected to Mister Cranel one way or another."

"…I shouldn't have answered to his Beckoning Bell then," Lyu's eyes narrowed.

"No, no," Hermes put up a hand. "It was a serious matter. Even I responded to it. The Good Hunter isn't the sort of person to ring it carelessly. Well… as far as I've known him anyways. I can't say how he was at the start of the Dream."

"In any case," Asfi spoke up to return to the topic at hand, "it's evident Evilus has their hands in the affairs of the Denatus and potentially the Guild."

"If they have hands inside the Guild…" Hermes muttered with worry in his tone. "Uranus help us."

"It means we now have a lead on them," Asfi continued, ignoring her god. "They're sticking their necks out to capture the Crow. And once the Crow is out of the way…"

"They'll have nothing else to fear and can return to their machinations unhindered," Lyu finished.

"Those vile people are willing to kill Bell for this?" Syr asked with a voice lined with acid.

"They're nothing more than opportunists," Asfi offered. "The head of the Guild himself issued for Bell's arrest as soon as he heard he was connected to the Crow. The evidence to further prosecute him only piled up afterwards. Royman Mardeel was only acting out of fear— he didn't want another Crow more than anyone else in the city."

"That still doesn't mean we're not at fault for giving them this opportunity," Hermes interjected. "There's no need to point fingers now. Miss Lyon, you said Hephaestus holds the other Blade of Mercy?"

"Yes," Lyu answered steadily as she studied him. "Goddess Hestia went to her to appraise them. Goddess Hephaestus informed her and a deal was made so they would remain out of Bell's hand. I believe Hestia was trying to avoid this very outcome."

"Well now," Hermes wrapped a few fingers under his chin. "What if the Crow _did_ appear just as Evilus wants? It would have to be convincing, of course. Let's say… in her Crowfeather garb as well as the notorious Blade of Mercy in hand?"

All the girls in the room studied him this time.

"What are you thinking?" it was Asfi who questioned her own god.

"I'm thinking about a way to prove Bell's innocence as well as disarming Evilus' little trap," he said with a curve on his lips. "Miss Lyon, I can prepare you a spotlight appearance as well as an escape route."

"Your theatrics will only get me so far," Lyu shot it down immediately. "To completely convince the city of Mister Cranel's innocence without question… I will need to kill a god before their very eyes. Unless you are aware of the identities of those affiliated with Evilus, there is very little I can do."

"…Time," he said with his smile slipping. "It will give us a little bit of time. It will make the people question the judgement of the gods. At best, it will rattle a few cages and point us in the right direction of Evilus. People, even gods, tend to act irrationally when they are in a panic. Mistakes are made and breadcrumbs fall."

"But will that be enough to stop the axe from coming down?" Lyu challenged, her eyes narrowing dangerously.

"No," Hermes said flatly, matching her gaze with one of his own. "It will be the League who will stop that axe."

Lyu's expression never changed as she stared at him, but her eyes were more focused on him than they ever had. Syr, on the other hand, was completely out of the loop. No doubt Lyu would inform her once this meeting was finished.

As for Asfi… well, he tried to not look her way. He could feel her glare pierce through his skull once he revealed a card he had kept hidden for decades. Especially since his affiliation with this specific branch of Hunters had their fair share of victims courtesy of the Hunter of Hunters before him.

"I like to think the Good Hunter as… an _honorary_ Confederate," Hermes spoke softly. "Regardless of his stance, the League always takes care of their own."

"Is that so…?" Lyu spoke just as softly. "Then will you take actions knowing it was I who killed Henryk back in Yharnam? He too was a Confederate of the League."

It was a challenge. He met it with a toothy grin. "I heard the Good Hunter was there with you. As I said, the League always takes care of their own. The way I see it… you just happened to be there when Henryk was put down."

Lyu's only reaction was to give a slow single blink.

"Buy us time and I will find you that name," he said firmly. "We will take care of Bell and keep him safe until you are ready to act."

"Be careful of your intentions, Lord Hermes," Lyu replied. "I am still a member of _Astraea Familia_."

"Of course," he gave her a charming smile. "We are merely two individuals participating in the same Hunt. Until we are rid of all vermin, we must continue to hunt and kill."

"Then…" Syr's eyes widened. Her appearance brightened with hope. "Bell will be alright?"

"You have my word," Hermes turned to her. "But I cannot guarantee your safety, Miss Flover. It is common knowledge now you and Bell are close. I strongly suggest you return to Freya's side until all of this blows over. I will have Asfi escort you to Folkvangr. The sooner you can leave, the better."

"…I understand," she said with a surprisingly amount of understanding. "I have a request, Lord Hermes. Are you able to deliver a message to the Guild?"

He immediately knew her intentions. After all, he had received a large amount of requests for him and his _familia_ to pass on something or another to Bell. Most were threats.

"So long as it is small and can't be used as a weapon, I think I can manage to slip it through the cracks," he nodded back.

"Y-Yes!" she jumped to her feet and turned to leave. "I'll pack my things right away."

"See that you do," he donned his hat. "We will be waiting right outside. Miss Lyon."

"Lord Hermes, Miss Andromeda," Lyu returned with a polite bow. She went to assist her friend.

Outside of the Benevolent Mistress, the city was still active with its daily affairs as though several _familias_ and Hunters weren't terrorizing the streets. But the atmosphere was definitely different. There was no question about it. He hadn't felt this much tension since… five years ago. Exactly when the Crow had disappeared and everyone questioned where the villain would strike next.

"Hermes," Asfi spoke quietly once they stood off to the side of the entry steps, "are you sure it was wise announcing yourself like that? To someone like her?"

"We are in need of allies more than ever, Asfi," he told her as he watched his surroundings. He was sure someone among the crowds were trying to keep tabs on them. He couldn't figure out if they worked for a curious god, someone from the Guild, or from Evilus. "These people pop their heads out of whatever hole they've been hiding in and we find ourselves with one hand tied behind our back. _Hermes Familia_ cannot respond like this. I'm afraid I'm going to have to take matters into my own hands."

"…But you are not like them," she pressed, stepping closer to him and keeping her voice down. "You cannot fight. You are a god."

He snorted. "It's funny. One moment, I am a god who sealed away his powers to join with the mortals. In the next, I am a mortal who has forgotten about his previous authority. I've gone through adventures that would have broken a normal man. I lost a leg and an eye. I aged and felt the mortality of man speak to me louder as death approached nearer. It was… a horrible, horrible nightmare.

"But do you know what this nightmare taught me once I woke up?" he looked at her and offered her his best smile. "Humility and temperance. I am aware of my place, Asfi. That doesn't mean I am out of the game entirely. There are other ways to fight other than with steel."

Asfi was the only person in his _familia_ who knew his identity. She knew his story. Granted, she didn't believe him at first and he never blamed her. Time had a way of convincing her. That… and the few things he brought over from the other world.

She listened to his words. She didn't give him anything to say she accepted his words, but that's how she was. He already knew from the little things she did that she accepted them. Cute little things like the way her nose twitched, wanting to argue with him but forcing herself back because she knew he was right or couldn't find any counter.

"And the fact Cainhurst might declare war doesn't bother you?" she asked as her eyes flicked over the buildings to gaze at the towering wall surrounding the city. "You never once brought them up during the discussion."

"Oh, that bothers me immensely," he admitted with a nervous frown. "Orario will surely be in for a surprise when they have to deal with Vilebloods. There's no way to avoid her wrath. So I've decided against trying to stop the inevitable storm."

Asfi said nothing as she kept staring at the wall. They remained like this as they waited for Syr to finish her task and join them.

0-0-0

The sun was beginning to set by the time Loki had finished with her business in town and joined back with her children outside the walls. She told them everything that happened, from whose child received a new title to who was caught sleeping with who. It irritated her children when they wanted to know one specific detail and she continued to blab on as though it were all a game to her. Unfortunately, it was to her.

"Oh," she said as though suddenly remembering something she had previously dismissed, "the bunny rabbit was found guilty as charged. They're gonna gank him early dawn. Gareth, yur gonna be the guy to off him. Bring yur sharpest axe!"

The dwarf continued to stroke his beard in silence.

"Loki!" Tiona flailed her arms around. "We're going to need more details than that! What did they say?!"

"Eh?" Loki blinked at her child. "What I just said. The kid's guilty of bein' the Crow."

"You and I both know that's not true," Riveria said from her corner.

"You knew?" the other Amazon, Tione, looked her way.

"I've encountered the Crow in action once," she answered, her delicate features crinkling at an old memory. "From witnessing the fight against Maria as well as supervising Aiz's training, it's clear to me Cranel fights differently than the Crow. His moves were too rough and aggressive. He fights too much like the monsters of the Dungeon. The Crow's were more concentrated… like a biting wind."

"Oh yeah," Loki waved a hand as she plopped herself on the long chair. She lay on her side with her head raised by her propped arm. "They totally knew he ain't the Crow. The whole trial was rigged. They just want this mess swept under the rug. Poor Itty Bitty didn' stand a chance there."

"But what happens if the Crow returns?" Tiona asked.

"…They'll probably announce the real Crow as an imposter," Finn said, his back turned to them as he stared off at the Cainhurst camp. "Unfortunately, none of that matters to us at the moment."

"Captain?" Tione blinked at him.

He felt Aiz's stare. She had been quiet the entire time, more quiet than usual anyways. He couldn't imagine what she was thinking right now.

"Cainhurst has threatened Orario with war," he explained. "We have a duty to protect the city. We cannot leave our posts for any reason right now. It means… we can't help the Good Hunter even if there was a way."

He grimaced as he remembered the scandal the previous afternoon. A member of the Guild, accompanied by a few escorts of _Ganesha Familia,_ had gone to the Cainhurst camp in order to investigate who had sent Apollo back to Tenkei. Only the Guild member had returned… in a sense.

A Royal Guard rode on horseback halfway to the adventurer's encampment, carrying the grand flag of the Cainhurst insignia. His horse had dragged the body of the Guild employee… while the head was mounted on the pike of the flag. The Royal Guard planted it onto the ground, severed the body from his horse, and rode back to the Cainhurst camp.

A neat and pristine letter, untouched by the amount of blood surrounding it, was attached to the flag's pole.

He didn't know how Ganesha personally took it. But his _familia_ was in uproar, demanding blood. It took the overbearing charisma of their captain to stop them from charging into the camp, but even then could he feel their bloodlust half a kilop away from where he stood.

"Gareth, I need you here," he turned his head to look over his shoulder. "When they come looking for you, tell them your goddess has commanded you to stay here. Hmm… I suppose we could also have the other members give wrong directions."

Loki had a proud smile, "Hoh? Ya mean mess with them before the execution?"

"I can at least give Bell an extra hour for himself," Finn said with a melancholy smile. "They'll probably change executioners… no, they probably have a backup just in case. Besides, I really do need you here, Gareth. I know the queen will try something before the execution."

He brought his thumb up to his lips. The appendage was twitching, a telltale sign that something dangerous was soon to come.

"Finn," Riveria regarded him, "are you fine with this?"

"Not at all," he said with a deep frown. "You can tell there's something more going on, can't you? Either way, we're not involved in it. We are the line that must protect the city. It's unfortunate… but there's nothing we can do for Bell at the moment. But, I have a feeling this won't be his last day. Greater things have tried to kill him."

His frown turned into a smile of confidence. It was the best he could offer to everyone in the tent, Aiz especially. There was no doubt she was torn between doing something for Bell and staying here where she was needed. She would always choose her _familia_ , of course, but that didn't mean the choice wouldn't eat away at her.

He turned back towards the horizon. His eyes didn't fall on the eerily quiet Cainhurst. They, who should have been preparing for war, were suspiciously inactive. Instead, his attention was drawn towards the west and into the setting sun.

"Rakia is on the move," he announced, squinting his eyes. It was difficult to see what exactly what they were doing now that the sun was kissing the horizon. It hid Rakia's camp well, but he could make out the vague silhouettes of their large army scrambling around into formation.

"Eh?" Tione approached and rested her chest on top of his head. Again. "Well would you look at that. Looks like we won't have to worry about Cainhurst after all. Do you think Rakia will distract them long enough?"

He didn't answer. He didn't even tell her to get off of him. Something wasn't right. His thumb was still twitching. His tactical mind was telling him the timing didn't make sense. Why attack an enemy that was preparing for battle?

He watched as Rakia's soldiers began to march down the road towards the Cainhurst encampment. Cainhurst was already responding; Knights mounted their horses and prepared for battle. It was a repetitive scene both armies have engaged in enough to have familiar habits. Even when the last skirmish was days ago.

What he noticed was different, however, were the wagons Rakia was pulling. Extra stock of weaponry? Emergency medical equipment and staff? Or some sort of secret weapon such as Rakia's legendary reserves of Crozzo swords? All of these things flashed through Finn's mind as he noticed how the wagons were mixed in with the marching soldier formations rather than away from the main fighting force.

A Rakian commander gave a signal. It wasn't one to charge. It was…

Suddenly, the rooftops of half of the wagons exploded. Thunder erupted.

He didn't need to issue orders. Everyone scrambled. Gareth flew forward, grabbing his nearby axe and already swinging. The rest moved out of his way and to get their goddess out of range.

Gareth smashed his axe against an oncoming projectile— a cannonball twice the size of his head. The thunderous boom from the collision was twice as loud as the ignition launching the ball of iron.

Two others tore through their tent. A third struck at the ground and blew apart the ground. The one Gareth had swiped at would have caused the most devastating of damage. He minimalized the damage at best.

While only a few cannonballs had been launched at their tent, the majority of the fire had been targeting the _Ganesha Familia_ encampment. No other _familia_ were targeted. Of course, _Ganesha Familia_ and _Loki Familia_ were perceived as the biggest threats. The former due to their insurmountable numbers and the latter because of their raw strength. _Hermes Familia_ and _Ishtar Familia_ weren't worthy of their weapons.

But _where_ did Rakia get their hands on gunpowder weapons?

Before the dust could settle, he heard the roar of a thousand battle cries. The same commander he spotted before had raised his sword and kicked his heels into his horse. Thousands of Rakian soldiers followed after him on horseback.

"BLOOD FOR THE QUEEN!"

His eyes widened as Cainhurst Knights charged down the road in suite. Rakian adventurers and Cainhurst Vilebloods were moving together. Rakia and Cainhurst… had made an alliance?!

Well… that at least explained where the cannons came from. Cainhurst must have kept them hidden to use as a secret weapon against Rakia. The element of surprise would have been at its highest if Rakia, a classical army who used magic and steel, suddenly used gunpowder.

The second half of the cannons fired. Riveria finished her chanting and threw up a barrier. A dome of mystic energy encased their group. Cannonballs slammed against her shield and did no more than create cracks. She gritted her teeth at the impact force.

"Finn, orders!" she demanded.

"They're using the cannons as cover-fire," he said. "Meet with their army and they risk hitting their own men. Riveria, we can't have you in the back— you'll be an easy target. We'll need you on the front lines with us."

"Understood," she said firmly, though he knew she hated being in direct combat.

"Aiz," he barked the next round of orders. "Get Loki back to the city gates and then meet up with us. Gareth, Tiona, Tione, as soon as we charge knock out any projectiles in our way. We don't go alone. Work with the other _familias_. We cannot allow a single one to reach the city gates!"

"Understood!" they all announced.

"Riveria, drop the barrier after the next barrage. They need time to reload the cannons."

She didn't respond. Her eyes narrowed with focus as she clutched tighter around her staff. They were pinned in place at the moment while the armies advanced. _Hermes Familia_ and _Ishtar Familia_ were already moving to intercept them. _Ganesha Familia_ were in an uproar and trying to recover their damages as well as regain their composure.

Just as he expected, the cannons fired off again— he noticed there were less than the first round. Perhaps due to Rakia's inexperience with the weapons? The cannonballs exploded around them as well as against Riveria's barrier. As soon as the last blast struck, she dropped the spell and they moved.

They moved as a unit with Gareth leading the charge. Despite him being a Level Six, he wasn't as fast as the others. He was purely a strength and endurance build, the tank of the group who could probably headbutt the cannonballs if he so dared. They could have run past him, but then their formation would have been broken and that was how chaos ensued.

Finn, as both general of _Loki Familia_ and acting commander of the city's defense, should not be in the heat of battle like this. It didn't stop him from bearing his spear— momentarily amazed the thing had survived from the first barrage— and throwing it at the wave of Vilebloods that had managed to break away from the other adventurers.

His spear pierced through them like an arrow through paper frames. Despite Cainhurst specializing in piercing defense, his strength and sharpness of his spear overpowered their resistance. He killed nine Vilebloods in this one throw.

"We hold the line right here!" he commanded. His voice was for all adventurers. "Not a single one gets through!"

Gareth's response to this order was to swing his axe around. They had yet to reach the wave of invaders… not that it mattered. Finn and his teammates made sure to stay out of the old dwarf's way.

The shockwave from his sheer strength created a sonic boom that struck the cavaliers several meders away. Both Rakian and Cainhurst enemies shouted in surprise as they and their horses were knocked into the air. Dozens of men and women were blown back like leaves swept away by the wind.

"Permission to go crazy, captain?" Tiona was skipping as they continued to advance. There was that crazed look in her eyes everyone had learned to fear.

"…Not a single one gets past," he told her with some mild reluctance. He learned there was no way to control her when she got like this. It was in her Amazon blood. The best he could do was point her in the right direction.

"Finally!" she cheered and took off like a bullet. She raised her double-bladed greatsword, something even Gareth would struggle to carry, as nimbly as a baton.

She didn't so much as crash onto the next wave of invaders as she so much… _exploded_ into them. Steel, cloth, and blood— lots of blood— erupted in every direction.

"Auu," whined Tione. "That's no fair. Captain…"

These Amazon twins will be the death of him, he swore.

"I need you on the defense line," he told her. "Go and assist _Hermes Familia_ until _Ganesha Familia_ catches up. Gareth, can I trust you with this area?"

"Aye," Gareth nodded as he readied his axe.

"Mou~" Tione whined further as she watched her sister, a nearly literal tornado of blood and gore.

"What will you be doing?" Riveria questioned.

"I will be retrieving my spear and then—"

The next round of cannon fire went off. Most of them continued to bomb against _Ganesha Familia_ , who had quickly adapted and learned a proper defense. But the rest…

Adventurers, Rakian soldiers, and Cainhurst Knights were struck as cannonballs erupted throughout the battlefield. Rakia had no hesitation in targeting them this close to their men. After all, while an alliance might be in effect, Cainhurst was still their sworn enemy. They can chalk it off as an accident or a necessary ploy to get rid of their common target: the Orario adventurers.

Yet, it had an effect on their morale. Rakian soldiers were now terrified of being near the Orario forces for being struck in the back by their own firing squad. Cainhurst Knights fared no better, snarling and cursing Ares as they continued with their advance.

"And then I'm taking out those cannons," Finn changed his plans.

"It'd be better to target them with magic," Riveria countered.

"They're too spread out for you to target them all. Your strongest spell might do the trick, but the incantation is too long. They'll notice immediately and focus all of their fire on you. You can do that after I take out a few of them. For now, clear a path for me."

"Very well. Gareth, watch over me."

They moved. Finn shot forward, weaving through a few enemies as he made his way through to his spear. Around him, soldiers and Knights were being blasted with fire and lightning courtesy of Riveria. Now with his spear back in his hand, he carved his way through the enemy lines. How long had it been since he was on the front lines like this? He was always a scouter, an observer, and a tactician. He always stood in the back, evaluating and studying his enemy, figuring out what made them tick like a professional watch maker, and then dismantling them.

He would have never been a Level Six if that was all he did. He had to put _a little_ physical effort into his growth. Unlike all the others, he was probably the only Hunter from the other side who hadn't grown dramatically by the Dream. If anything, his time as Simon had sharpened his already impressive mind.

Had he known or even speculated something as ridiculous as Rakia and Cainhurst would join forces, he would have brought the Bowblade along with him. He would have sniped all the leaders and disassembled their chain of command all the way from the _Loki Familia_ tent.

And it was because he never considered this inconveivable plot was his face and clothes splashed in Rakia blood and _disgusting_ Vileblood ichor.

He found the first round of resistance once his spear was parried. He should have known; the first wave of Cainhurst Vilebloods were just the cannon fodder— literally in this case. They were the weakest and most expendable. Behind them were the stronger ones. He had no doubt in the deepest recesses of the army were those who could push him.

The surprise lasted less than a blink. He brought his spear around faster than the Vileblood could follow up on his strike. The man's eyes widened as he realized death was upon him even as he had the advantage, no matter how brief it could have been.

By this point in the conflict, both Rakia and Cainhurst armies had become interwoven. There was a strategy here. They weren't just two forces with a common enemy. They were working together, enhancing each other's strengths and filling the gaps of their weaknesses. Case and point, there were a good number of Knights surrounding the cannons while Rakian soldiers were manning them. Now that the battle had broken out, Cainhurst servants were assisting them.

The next round of fire came much quicker.

He charged at them. Two Knights intercepted him. His suspicions became true after they parried and defended themselves proper. If he were to duel against one of them, he knew he would win in a matter of moves. But together? He was pressed.

It was more annoying than it was challenging.

The gap between their powers was still too much. He found his opening and pierced through the eyeball of the first Knight. The second went to lunge at his exposed back, but he had anticipated this. He stepped closer, sliding his hands up the shaft until they were celches away from the spade. He spun the spear around, bringing the dead body around with it and knocking it into the other Knight. He wretched his spear free, spun it around to build momentum, and then brought the spade around to slash open the neck of the disoriented second Knight.

Before the body would collapse, he was already moving towards the first cannon.

The Rakian soldiers dropped what they were doing and drew their weapons. Their eyes shook with fear as they knew they wouldn't stand a chance against him. Their main defenders were the stronger Knights, whom he easily dispatched.

Their leader, the one who told them where to aim based on raised flags of a commander elsewhere on the battlefield, was the only one without fear. He stared defiantly at Finn as he drew the great sword off his back.

Finn's eyes widened. The sword wasn't made out of steel. There was a deep red color making up its metal.

A Crozzo magic sword.

The squad leader roared out as he swung his blade around at Finn. The prum put all his strength into his next leap. There was no point in trying to get out of the way. He needed to take out the man before the magic could be unleashed.

His spear was celches away and closing in when his vision was consumed in a ray of red.

0-0-0

He was hard at work in his forge. He lost track of time and didn't notice how hungry he was. He kept his focus on trying to replicate a weapon he had seen so few times. He had seen it enough. If he could replicate just about every Trick Weapon there was from memory alone, then he knew he could make something he once touched.

Naturally, it wouldn't have its alien alloy. High-grade adamantine would have to do. He drenched the thing in oil and burnt it to turn the green metal into an ashen color. The weapon was finished with its transformation mechanics figured out. Now all he did was sit on the grinder and sharpen the twin blades.

His Blade of Mercy was nearly identical to the original.

The only fault would be should it happen to stab a god then the divine would return to Tenkei. It was the unworldly metal from the cosmos that could do that, something he couldn't get his hands on even if he had all the time in the world to search for. The original source had come from a meteorite, and what remained of that space rock created _two_ weapons. And only two.

He scratched his head at how Bell had two Blades of Mercy, meaning there were now three weapons. He figured it would be best to not question dream-logic.

He was lost in thought when he felt someone tap his shoulder.

He was out of the stool, brandishing one of the daggers around in alarm.

"Wolfy…" Tsubaki gave the weapon a flat look before glaring up at him, "put the blade down. It's just me."

"Dammit, Tsubaki," he cursed and lowered the weapon. He hadn't been able to hear her come down due to the grinding of metal. "Couldn't you have waited until I finished or something?"

"You were done a long time ago," she crossed her arms, eying the blade again. "At this point you're filing it down into a nub."

He raised the dagger and studied it. True to her experienced eye, the blade was sharp enough to split a hair. He growled to himself and crossed the room to place the dagger with its twin. He took off his gloves and threw them across one of the work benches.

"Why are you armed?" he asked now that he was a few meders away from her.

"I did what you asked," she began in a slightly irritated voice. She walked around the room, straight towards the one spot he had hoped she wouldn't notice. "I went looking for your Supporter after she was called back by her _familia_. All my leads fell to a dead end. Eventually I had enough and went to _Soma Familia's_ brewery myself. Except… there was no answer."

She stopped at a crate shoved into the corner. Her one eye glared down at the contents.

"They're holed up?" he asked, trying to divert the inevitable shit storm to come from her.

"I'm not sure," she said in a deceptively calm voice. "It's strange even by their standards. There were no signs they were working on their wine. It more felt like the entire place was abandoned."

He didn't like her answer. It made him worry for Lilly that much more. Where exactly did _Soma Familia_ take her? His worries were doubled as he remembered the black eye she had. What other sort of abuse would they do to her now that it was public belief Bell was the Crow? Or... would they wait to hurt her only after Bell's execution?

He now had more of a reason to carry out his plan.

But there was one obstacle in his way.

"Welf," Tsubaki's voice dropped in pitch. "What is this?"

Within the crate was a frayed coat with the cape split in two in resemblance to a pair of wings. There was also a crudely made leather doctor's mask buried underneath.

The question was rhetorical. She already knew the answer.

"Why are you armed, Tsubaki?" he pressed. He turned to fully face her.

She glowered at him. The grip on her katana tightened briefly before she realized what she was doing. She drew out a long breath of air and released her grip. It didn't lessen her anger.

"Our goddess instructed me to stop you from doing something stupid. By any means necessary. I thought you were just trying to be macho like with your father. I didn't think you completely lost it. Why… Why did you listen to Hermes? Wolfy, you know we would have helped you."

They both knew he would never ask them something like that. Favors and requests he could stomach. He knew he couldn't get this far in his practice without them. But to outright risk their lives for someone that wasn't in their _familia_? He could never do that to them.

There was something else she said that caught his attention.

"Hermes? What are you talking about?"

Her anger turned to irritation. Her one eye flicked to the Blade of Mercy before landing back on his eyes. He continued to look at her with the same expression. He truly had no idea what she was talking about.

"Hermes… never approached you," she muttered. "You're acting on your own. I don't know whether that's a relief or twice as stupid as before."

"What does Hermes want with Bell?" he asked.

She huffed. She was about to answer when something else caught her attention. It took him a blink to catch it as well.

She put a hand to her katana while he pulled out the Blades behind him.

"I'm sorry for the intrusion," someone said from the other end of the workshop. A man in plated armor covered by a dark cloak stepped out. He had come through the sewers. "Welf Crozzo, it's been a long while."

"…Prince Marius," Welf acknowledged the man with some respect. Out of everyone in Rakia, Marius was someone who never abused his power and preferred to earn his credibility. "How did you find your way through here? How did you get through the city walls?"

"The same way your father did," Marius answered as he stepped further. He dipped his head at Tsubaki, acknowledging her presence, before returning to Welf. "We've infiltrated Orario a great number of times. We have our secrets. Alas, it is not enough to have a full army invade but we can get away with a small squad. As for how I found you… well, I admit I had no clue. Not until a certain mark led me here."

A certain mark? Welf had carved various different marks along the sewers in order to figure out where he was going. They were both Caryll runes, common language letters, and hieroglyphs of the gods. The one mark that led him from here to the Guild would be the traditional Hunter's mark. Prince Marius shouldn't have known about it.

Unless…

"You're a Hunter," Welf stated.

"I'm afraid the term is lost to me," Marius admitted. "I believe you misunderstand. I am not alone. The others are waiting outside. This place is surrounded. I've only approached you like this to persuade you to come with us peacefully."

While he was armed, he made no moves to be hostile. He addressed Welf respectfully, almost like an old friend. The only reason why they had met in the first place was because of Welf's bloodline. They weren't friends; not even a little.

"I'm not the same kid as I was when I left," Welf declared. "If you think you can drag me back to Rakia, think again. Neither your words or force can make me."

Marius examined his surroundings, studying the workshop, "Lord Ares would grant you so much. Privilege, riches, resources. Everything you could ever want. You wouldn't need to hide your talents from the rest of the world. You wouldn't have to crawl through the sewers like a rodent."

"…Is that how you see it?" Welf scoffed. "I've heard it all before, Marius. And I'll tell you the same thing I told my old man. I have everything I could ever want right here in Orario. This is my home."

"If you don't mind," Tsubaki interjected, "we're in the middle of something. So can you just summon your cronies so we can kick their asses and get back to our affair?"

Marius looked like he wanted to say something. He stopped himself as the clacking of boots echoed through the sewage. It was a sound of someone purposely making noise in order to announce their presence. It was a technique of someone who knew how to be absolutely silent.

It wasn't a Rakian soldier who entered the workshop. It was a Cainhurst Royal Guard.

Three of them. The other two were silent as they glided past their comrade to circle around Marius. The four of them made a wall that blocked the escape route. Their only way out was to take the stairs.

As though reading their thoughts, the floorboard creaked. There were two more Royal Guards climbing down.

"Rakia… is working with Cainhurst?" Tsubaki swallowed.

"Until both our agendas are met," Marius said, his face scrunching slightly as being near so many of his enemy was more putrid than the sewage he stepped through to get here. "Crozzo… Welf, come with us. We will use force if necessary. If you leave now… we won't have to hurt you or your friend."

"Don't think I'll go down without taking all of you with me," Tsubaki snarled as she readied herself for a fight.

Welf was silent. While Tsubaki was one whole Level above him, even he had his doubts about this outcome. They were surrounded by half a dozen of the queen's most elite. There was a reason why Cainhurst and their small numbers were an equal match to the swarm of Rakia's forces.

"M-Mister Welf?"

His heart froze. There was a sixth Royal Guard. He stood in the far back of the group, still in the sewers. He stepped forward, pushing a prum forward by the tip of his Evelyn.

Lilly looked up at him with a terrified expression. His eyes scanned her, searching for any details of harm. Other than a few bruises and dirt, she seemed fine. The blood on her clothes didn't seem to come from any wound from her.

He formed a picture in his head. Tsubaki's story made sense to him now. There was no one at the brewery because… they were dead. Cainhurst had been looking for Lilly in order to get to him.

"…What is this?" Marius craned his neck around. He was just as surprised as Welf. "What have you done? This wasn't part of the plan!"

The one Royal Guard turned its faceless helm towards Marius. His voice was distorted, almost guttural, as he was dangerously close to crossing the line into beasthood. "We have our orders. You do not command us."

"Let her go!" Welf barked.

The Royal Guard's response was to cock back the hammer of his Evelyn. Its tip was pointed at the back of Lilly's head. His faceless helm turned towards Welf. No words were needed.

"Let her go," Welf repeated, his teeth grinding. "And… I'll go with you."

"Welf," Tsubaki warned at him. "Don't."

"Lilly has nothing to do with this," he growled. "I'll go only if you leave her unharmed."

"Mister Welf," Lilly's voice was small, broken. "It's okay. Lilly is just a Supporter. Lilly's a nobody. Mister Welf can make magic swords. You're much more important than Lilly's life. Don't throw it away for Lilly's sake. Please."

His anger was rising. He was grinding his teeth.

Dammit all. How could he call himself a man if he let Lilly die like this? Down here in his shitty workshop right next to the sewage system? With those tears in her eyes?

"Welf," Tsubaki hissed at him. "Don't do it. We can take them."

"…Not with your lives on the line," he said. He shut his eyes… and tossed aside the daggers that took him most of the day to make.

"Welf!" Tsubaki barked.

He raised his hands up in surrender.

The Royal Guard lowered his weapon but didn't step away from Lilly. The deal was struck and both parties would follow through when everything was in order. The two Royal Guards in the back approached. One had a pair of manacles while the other… had an iron mask. They clamped them on Welf's person, binding his hands at his front while he was blind to the world.

All the while, Tsubaki was forced to watch it happen. He heard her katana rattling by how much she was shaking in outrage. She wanted to fight for him. She wanted to tear apart everyone in the room to make sure he wouldn't be taken. What stopped her… was probably her love for him.

No matter how much she hated it, she was going to respect Welf's decision. Welf had given himself up so no blood would be shed. Lilly would have been caught in the crossfire while Tsubaki would have succumbed to her wounds killing a Royal Guard or two.

"I'm sorry Welf," Prince Marius spoke softly. "Truly I am. It wasn't supposed to go this way."

"…When does it ever?" he asked mockingly; the mask muffled most of his words.

The Royal Guards escorted him out. They followed in an order— first were the two who led him by his arms, followed by the three others who had come after Marius. Prince Marius tipped his head once more at Tsubaki before following his temporary allies. It wasn't until they were all gone did the final Royal Guard release Lilly— by pushing her onto the floor. Before Tsubaki would dare to take a swipe at this one and pursue after Welf, the Royal Guard leapt back and disappeared into the darkness as though he were but a specter.

She couldn't hear their footsteps. Not even Welf's or Marius'.

She had no idea which direction they went.

0-0-0

Under the main building of Pantheon were the dungeon cellars. They were often rented out to _familias_ who wanted to punish their children, used by adventurers who had broken severe rules and awaited their punishment, or granted to prisoners of war mostly filled by Rakian assassins and spies. There was no comfort whatsoever in these parts. It was cold, hardly lit as the magic stone lamps were only turned on when officials walked by, and every surface was carved out of stone and fitted with various metals.

It was here where Eina sat in front of one particular cell on a very uncomfortable stool. She wouldn't complain about it, not after seeing the prisoner in front of her and his living conditions.

Bell didn't look anything like he once did a few days ago. His cheeks were sunken due to dehydration and lack of nutrition. The guards weren't feeding him like they were supposed to. He was covered in filth and grime. She could smell him despite being a dozen meders away— he hadn't been able to use any of the waste bins to relieve himself.

He was shackled to the wall. The chains and manacles around him were fastened out of orichalcum. Only the strongest of adventurers would be able to break free. Bell wouldn't as an agility-based adventurer.

She hated the sight of this. He had complied with Guild protocol in good faith. And those who had a hatred for the Crow had taken advantage of him.

"Hi, Miss Eina," he said while she took him in. Despite how he looked, he still gave her the same smile as he would over the countertop. "How's my goddess?"

She adjusted her glasses, trying to consider her words. "She's… fine. She's not taking this well, honestly. She's worried for you. At the moment, we're keeping her comfortable in the Guild dormitories until… we can figure out her living arrangements."

"Ah, I see," he nodded, or tried to. There was a choker around his neck. "Please tell her I'm fine. I'll be out of here soon and we can go back to being a family again."

She choked. She didn't want to tell him. Her gloved hands clenched into tight fists. It was the best she could do to stop herself from crying.

"Bell, I have something for you," she said and pulled out the bento from her purse. "It's from a girl named Syr. She says she wishes you well."

The god Hermes had come directly to the Guild to deliver this. It took every trick in his book and perhaps some miracle for him to convince the head of the Guild to look the other way this once.

 _"Come on, Mardeel. Consider this his last meal. You can at least let him have that much, right?"_

It didn't stop her boss from having the guards check out the contents. The guards turned everything inside-out, potentially contaminating the food purposely in their pettiness. They also had no intention of opening the cage for Eina to be able to properly deliver it to him.

The distance between her and the end of the cell was over a dozen meders. She would have to throw it through the bars and hope it would be able to reach him… without the contents spilling out.

"Eh? Syr did?" his eyes lit up. "What else did she say?"

"I, um, wasn't the one who met with her in person," she said. "Lord Hermes delivered this on her behalf."

"Ah, yeah that'll make sense," he nodded again. His smile dropping into something a little more sad. "She's probably busy at the tavern right now. I'm just glad she's doing alright."

She didn't ask who this Syr person was. Someone he fancied or a tavern girl who still rooted for him despite the news. Either way, Eina was glad someone else out there still believed in Bell.

She pressed herself against the bars and flung the bento across the cell. The box slid across the floor… before hitting an uneven brick and getting wedged in the cracks. It was beyond Bell's reach as he tried to grab it with his heel. He gave up and tried to keep up the smile.

"…I'm sorry," she said.

"…It's fine," he said in a small voice. His eyes stared at the box out of his reach. He must be so hungry. His head perked up, remembering she was still there. "What's been going on outside? How long have I been down here?"

"Three days," she answered.

"Eh… three days?" he leaned back in thought. "I wouldn't have guessed. Honestly, it feels like two at most."

He tried to laugh. The sound that came out didn't belong to the white-haired rabbit she treated like a little brother.

"Bell…" her voice was pressed. "Why were you in possession of those weapons?"

He stopped smiling. His eyes were apologetic. He knew why she was asking as well as the gravity of the question. "Because… they're an heirloom."

She stiffened. This was not the answer she wanted. "Bell… no. You can't be. You can't really be the Crow."

"I'm not," he pleaded. "I never did any of the things Eileen is accused of. The Blade of Mercy was given to me by her."

"Eileen…?" she questioned. Then, she blinked. A spark of hope flashed through her eyes. "Bell, you know the identity of the Crow?!"

"I only know her name," he admitted with another smile. "I've never seen her without her mask."

And just like that… so went the one way to prove his innocence.

"Bell, how is it possible?" she asked next. "They announced your status at the Denatus. How are you a Level Seven?"

He blinked at that as though his own status was a surprise. No, it couldn't be. He must be surprised by the fact they shared his status with everyone else. That had to be it. After all, how can _anyone_ be surprised by something they could only have for years.

"I…" he began, his voice drifting off. He stared at the ground. "I don't know how to explain. You wouldn't believe me either."

"…I think I deserve the right to know," she said in offense. "I thought you were a newbie. I still remember the first day you walked through those doors and I was assigned to you. How… How could you have lied to me after all this time?"

She felt like a fool. How many nights did she go without sleep believing the little rabbit was in way over his head? How many hours did she waste after working hours copying maps and monster details for him?

What about their date? Was he really clueless when he went looking for gear? Was all the advice she gave him really something he had experienced a thousand times before? Was he just teasing her with this façade while she put her everything into making sure he returned from the Dungeon alive?

Level Seven. He never needed her help.

"It's not what you think, Miss Eina," he said in a weak voice. Those large eyes of his won't work this time. "Honest. I really am a rookie. It's just…"

Her eyes narrowed as she crossed her arms. She was waiting for his next words.

His eyes flicked over to the side of the cage. His face fell into a blank. His eyes flashed in alarm.

"Miss Eina, you need to leave," he said urgently. "Someone's coming. They just killed the guards."

Her brows fell into a flat line, "Don't try something like that, Bell. You're not getting out of this conversation."

"Miss Eina, please!" he fought against his chains. "This isn't a joke!"

"We are in the safest place in the entire city," she pointed out. "The guards are both Level Fours. You'd need to make a lot of racket to take them out. Now, my question, Bell. Or… do I really mean nothing to you after everything?"

His eyes flicked over her shoulder. His face fell into horror.

She still didn't believe him. But… something inhumanly cold swept through her. A sixth sense. The instinct to live. It was only then did she realize the entire cellar was impossibly quiet. It was as though they were the only people in the entire building.

She felt the presence of another standing right behind her.

Before she could turn around, something hot burned at her back and chest simultaneously. She found she couldn't breathe. Something was stopping her left lung from expanding. When she looked down… a bloodied katana was protruding out of her chest.

"EINA!" she heard Bell scream.

The sword was pulled out of her. The assaulter kicked her off the stool.

A Cainhurst Royal Guard flicked his Chikage clean of her blood and sheathed the weapon in one fluid motion. His faceless helm observed Eina as she wreathed in pain on the ground. She coughed and gagged, struggling to breathe as the blood was filling her lung. She would be left to a slow and painful death.

"Greetings, Your Majesty," the Royal Guard spoke clearly and crisply with a hint of sarcasm. His head turned to regard Bell. "It's tragic. As we came to rescue you by the Queen's orders, it would seem the adventurers had executed you before the appointed time. The body could not be recovered."

He said this while pulling out his Evelyn and pointing it at Bell.

"Any last words?" the Royal Guard offered as he cocked back the hammer.

"…Don't let Eina die, please," Bell said. He tried to pull against his bindings. Individually, he could break the chains. But with several binding him and nailed to the wall, they were each supporting the other. He couldn't break free.

"Unfortunately, I cannot allow a single survivor to talk," said the Royal Guard. He pulled the trigger.

A flash of steel. Just as the Evelyn fired, the tip of another Chikage pushed it upward. The movement was so fast it could have been possible to sever the hand instead. But its true purpose was to alter the angle of the trajectory. The Quicksilver bullet flying out of it steered off course. Instead of hitting Bell between the eyes, it hit one of the chains. The orichalcum cracked, giving Bell just enough of a weakness to struggle free.

"What?!" the Royal Guard shouted in alarm and twisted his neck around to see who had interfered. "You?! But you're supposed to be with Prince—!"

It was all the time he had as the other Chikage came back around and struck at the weakest point of the armor: the back of the skull that connected the helm to the neckguard. It was a small gap used to not hinder the movement of the neck. And it was there where the Chikage bit into flesh.

The Royal Guard collapsed.

The Bloody Crow cleaned his sword and sheathed it. He stepped over the corpse of the traitor and, calmly, opened the cell doors with a pair of borrowed keys.

Bell only had been able to break his arm free when the Bloody Crow entered. He froze, staring up at the man, wondering if the Bloody Crow was going to kill him. Instead, the man knelt down and, just as calmly, began to undo the bindings with the ring of keys on his hand.

"Why?" Bell asked as the man worked.

There was no response.

"Wait," Bell tried something else. "Eina! Please! Go save Eina! She's dying!"

The Bloody Crow's head turned towards Bell's face. He never stopped working, undoing the next set of shackles with as much steadiness as one without a single worry in the world. He made no effort to hasten Bell's freedom nor to stop and tend to Eina.

At the last shackle, Bell tried to stand and rush to Eina. He couldn't feel his legs, having to sit in the same position for three days. The Bloody Crow caught him and mostly dragged him out of the cell.

He expected the man to carry him past Eina. Instead, he dropped him right at her side.

The man knelt down. Bell thought he was going to use a Blood Vial on her. Instead, he pushed back the sleeve of Bell's tunic and drew a gauntleted finger across the skin. Blood oozed out lazily.

The Bloody Crow said nothing. Bell stared up at him in confusion. Reading into his confused state, the Bloody Crow pushed his arm away… close to Eina's face.

"…What?" Bell blinked. Not in confusion this time. He understood exactly what the man was implying.

The Bloody Crow dipped his head, urging Bell to proceed.

Eina grabbed onto his pant leg. Her hand was clenched over her chest. Blood dripped still, forming a pool around her clothes and spilling onto the floor. She looked up at him; her eyes shone not in fear for her life, but fear for his. Even now… she thought of him.

"Miss Eina…" he scooted closer to her and raised her head. He brought his bleeding arm towards her mouth. "Please, drink this. You'll die if you don't."

She looked at him as though he were crazy.

"Please," he said with tears rising. "A potion can't heal this. I don't want you to die. Please, Eina. Please trust me."

She, who thought she had been lied to. He was asking her once more to trust him. He had no right. Even if he didn't understand the numbers of his status, he never once told her how powerful he had grown. He never told her anything.

But just this once. And let it be the last time, the time where trust mattered the most.

Her bloodied hands reached for his wrist and forearm. She brought his arm closer. There was a heavy look of skepticism on her face as she hesitated. And perhaps it was because she was dying… or perhaps she had been able to see something in his gaze. She brought the skin to her lips and opened her mouth.

Instantly, she released a soft moan of relief as though all her pain washed away. Immediately after, she began to drink in his blood without restraint. She sucked in two gulps before pushing his arm away and coughing. She rolled onto her side and continued to wheeze.

He couldn't tell if she was okay or not. From fatigue, taking this amount of blood from him made the room spin.

The Bloody Crow caught him before he could fall and threw him over his shoulder. Quickly but gracefully as though they were on a cloud, he began to exit the cell block.

"W-Wait!" croaked Eina. She coughed once more. Bell saw her rising back to her feet and trying to reach out towards him. "Wait! Come back! Bell!"

He tried to smile for her. He wasn't sure if she saw it before the world went black.

* * *

 **Pat reon: Arrixam**


	19. Chapter 19

**AN:** Ugh!

I want this to be done already! But, get this, I had to cut this chapter in half. Here's the first 12k chunk. Hopefully I'll have the rest out by the end of the week... or early next week.

Originally, I wanted this to be a meaty 20k chapter. A sort of special "season finale". But noooo. Being a responsible adult SUCKS!

Stay in school kids. That's seriously the best advice I can give.

Noob, this last part is for you. I'm going to need more time. It's a bit longer than I promised, I know, but I have a should have my evenings this week free. I'll get back to you once my research is complete.

Now without further ado, ON WITH THE SHOW!

* * *

"…There is something wrong," the Doll said.

Gehrman groaned as he made his way back to his wheelchair, his pegged leg thumping against the upturned stone walkway. The ground was uneven and he had difficulty pacing back a few dozen meters back to his comfortable chair. Now that the rage of battle was over, he was starting to feel the aches only age could bring.

All around him was destruction. The bridge was crumbled, the outer walls of the castle were coated black by all sorts of elements and raw magic, and there were so many corpses littered about. Blood soaked his clothes and dripped off his scythe.

In complete contrast, the Doll remained pristine. She pushed his chair forward, meeting him halfway. The rubble seemed to part away from her path. No, more like as if they were never there in the first place.

"What is it?" he asked once he was back in his chair.

She stared up at the sky. This far down in the Dungeon they couldn't see the outer walls or the ceiling above them. All around them was complete darkness. Not even monsters roamed around these parts.

"The Good Hunter," she spoke softly, tilting her head slightly after giving a slow blink. "He is moving further away from the Dungeon."

Gehrman pulled out a piece of cloth within his person and began to clean his blade. "Is that so? You sound as though he won't come back. He aims to be a hero, does he not?"

She didn't say anything. She continued to stare up at the vast emptiness as though the abyss would have all the answers she needed. Her head tilted to the other side as though she had been given a response.

"Something is interfering," she spoke eventually. "There is something taking him away from the Dungeon. And… keeping him away."

"I didn't realize that could be possible," he grumbled irritably. "Are his actions no longer his own?"

"They are always his," she countered. It almost sounded emotional; Gehrman must have imagined it. "Even now, he is of his own will. This must be… a fantasy he wishes fulfilled. A selfish desire within his subconscious."

"Does this have anything to do with the Vileblood Queen?" a new voice questioned.

Gehrman turned his head to regard the other Old Hunter. Ludwig was just as bloodied as the old man; his white robes and leathers dyed red in their invader's blood.

The Doll looked away to have her eyes search within Ludwig's.

"Perhaps," Gehrman muttered in a thoughtful tone. "That boy has always been a womanizer. Perhaps this is a result of guilt or regret? Still… it's quite a strong wish to do this much. And to take him away from his dearest desires? What must he be thinking right now to convince himself from turning away at becoming a hero?"

The Doll lowered her head as she raised her hands at chest level. A dim red light dance around her fingertips. The sounds of wailing and bell chimes sang as the lights began to spread across her palm.

"As fascinating as this is," Maria quipped as she stepped into their circle. Her clothes were drenched in blood— both of her enemies and her own through the use of her tainted heritage. "It does not help us at the moment. If we are to stay idle and ponder this mystery, he will get further away."

Gehrman gave a dry chortle, "And you are offering to retrieve him? Will you be able to slay your kin and convince the boy to return? Force will only have you slain by his blade, Maria."

She frowned, "I gave that all up a long time ago, Gehrman. Cainhurst means nothing to me now. As for Bell Cranel… I am sure there are ways to persuade him."

"I believe you have done enough," Ludwig's was like a whip. "Your scheming has diverted us away from our original purpose. We let you roam freely so you may lure him into the Dungeon, not drive him away. I will go in your stead."

"Can we afford that?" Gehrman asked. "Is your crew capable of venturing the Dungeon while you, their strongest, leave for the surface?"

"We can do more than afford it," Ludwig assured him. "Our quest is complete. We have found what we were looking for."

Rather than confidence and glory, Ludwig had reported in a grim and almost frightened tone. What he had found shook his foundation and question his sanity. This was what they read on his expression.

"You will both go," the Doll spoke suddenly. She raised her head while the dancing of Blood Echoes continued to flow at her fingertips. "You must make sure he will return. And remain here."

"Such an arduous task," Maria huffed. "He has nothing but enemies in the city with friends incapable of helping his plight. He has all the more reason to flee to Cainhurst if he is not welcomed in his own home."

The Doll remained still. A normal human would have assumed the look of contemplation. To her, there was nothing but absolute stillness. They were reminded the Doll was, as the name they gave her, just a plain doll.

And yet, when those eyes flickered at Maria once more, they saw something more within them. Something that should not be real and something so beyond human comprehension it drove them mad simply questioning it. All they could do was pretend the Doll was nothing more for the sake of their sanity.

"Make sure he cannot leave," the Doll said. Though her voice was as monotone and lifeless as ever, they could have sworn there was something like an edge within. "Kill Annalise. I will make sure he will remain here."

Without another word, the Doll bowed to them like the humble caretaker role she had assumed and stepped around them. She walked towards the bridge, towards the edge, and kept walking. The darkness consumed her when she reached the furthest edges their castle's light could touch. They could not hear her footsteps any longer.

0-0-0

Bell stirred out of a dreamless sleep. He felt refreshed as though all he needed after a few days of abuse and malnutrition was a good night's rest. It felt more like a really bad dream he had already forgotten.

His eyes fluttered open. He half expected to see the dark ceiling of the Guild's dungeon cellar. Instead, he saw the creamy texture of a tent roof… along with a few strands of silver hair.

Delicate hands brushed at his hair. He moved his eyes further upwards.

"…Annalise?" his voice was almost distant as he was waking up.

"Yes," the queen whispered back in a soothing voice. She had a small smile as her head peered down at him, her eyes still covered by a strand of silk lace. "Thou art in our company, away from those who hath sought thou'st harm. Thou art safe… for the time being."

He sat up; she didn't stop him. He looked around and saw he was in a tent the size of the antechamber of the church he and Hestia lived in. All sorts of fancy and expensive décor was spread about in the name of luxury, comfort, and sheer bragging rights. The one candelabra sitting on a desk could feed him and his goddess for months! And Annalise's room was full of all sort of expensive things!

They were on a lounging sofa. Annalise had her legs tucked under with her hands resting on her lap, watching him behind her silk mask.

He noticed he wasn't dressed in his soiled tunic and trousers. Annalise had dressed him in new clothes. They weren't fancy (though definitely made out of finer material than he was used to) as he had just been sleeping in them.

They also weren't alone. What he assumed to be servants stood around, awaiting commands and ready to come to Annalise for any requirement. And standing on guard at the tent flap was… the Bloody Crow, still dressed in his armor.

Bell tensed at the sight of the man and instinctively went for a weapon that wasn't at his side.

The Bloody Crow turned its head slightly at sensing the hostility but didn't give Bell his full regards. He went back to watching the outside through the smallest sliver in the tent flap.

Bell wanted to ask what happened. Why was he here? But he already knew the answer to both. The Cainhurst Royal Guard had told him everything he needed to know before betraying his orders and try to kill him. Annalise had sent a rescue party to break Bell out of his cell and bring him to her.

"Thank you," he muttered after a moment. He meant those words to both Annalise and to the Bloody Crow… even if the latter he had mixed feelings for. He had expected the Bloody Crow to remain as his enemy after their duel in Yharnam, not to save him and allow him the chance to save Eina.

"Of course," Annalise replied back. "Thou art precious to us. We could not allow one such as thyself to rot away or be put on display."

"But… my goddess," he realized something. Panic began to seep out of his voice, "Annalise, my goddess is still in the city! I can't leave her behind! What if they try to do something now that I'm here?"

For a moment, her smile shifted. It had remained but he could feel jealousy radiate off of her being. Even someone as blind and dense as Bell could understand how she felt. Her masked glare was just as piercing as any other woman's he's come across.

"Worry not," she said in a simple tone. "We hath taken all the necessary precautions."

She waved a hand at one of the servants. The woman dressed in red and black maid's dress bowed and rushed out of the tent to carry out what silent order the Queen demanded. Annalise said nothing to him as she rose to her feet.

A moment later, the Bloody Crow pulled back the tent flap to allow someone else to enter.

"Bell?" his goddess blinked with surprise as she was escorted by the same maid. She had once worn a thick scowl but completely flipped it around at the sight of him.

"Goddess?" he was just as surprised as she was. He stood, ready to go to her.

"Bell!" she squealed, ran towards him, and then leapt onto his chest. Her legs wrapped around his waist with arms around his neck. She squeezed the life out of him while he fumbled around to remain on his feet.

"Goddess, are you alright?" he asked while he held her up in his arms. "What are you doing here? How did…"

His eyes flicked over to Annalise. The Queen kept her hands at her front while she observed the two of them behind her mask.

"It was all her," Hestia answered Bell… while remaining latched to his body. She waved a hand in the general direction of Annalise as she explained, "Some of her dark knights came into my room in the middle of the night and snatched me away. They didn't explain anything until I got here! I thought I was going to be used as a bargaining tool against the city, Bell. But… seeing as you're here too…"

Slowly, almost reluctantly, she unlatched herself from Bell and parted from him. She stood straight with her head upraised. Her eyes bored into Annalise with the gaze befitting of a goddess.

Then, she bowed, "Thank you, Queen Annalise. I am indebted to you for freeing my Bell from an unjustifiable execution."

"Wait, what?" Bell blinked. "Execution?! They were going to—"

"Raise thine head, Goddess Hestia," Annalise spoke in her crisp, regal tone befitting of a queen. "We dost not act on thy behalf but for the honor of Cainhurst. Bell Cranel is still our husband-to-be and future King of Cainhurst. Our ploy was a selfish one."

"…You know I'm still not okay with the whole marriage business," Hestia muttered dryly as she stood straight to glower at the much taller queen.

There was a shadow of a smile on Annalise's lips as she tilted her head ever so slightly. Or Bell could have imagined all of it. Her hands shifted with her fingers gracing the rim of the brilliant ring he had given her in the other world. Hestia started to fume where she stood.

"Um… now what?" Bell asked. Hestia looked ready to attack the Queen and the presence of the Bloody Crow not too far away— _armed_ as well— made him wary. "Annalise, Orario will see you as a criminal for what you've done. They're going to send really strong adventurers for you. A lot of people might die."

"Yes," she turned her head towards him. Her voice was somber, if not a little unsettling. "This we hath considered. But the sacrifice we know to be worth it. Just as it was thou who risked all to return us to our throne, we must do the same."

Before Bell could say anything further, she addressed the entirety of her servants, "Prepare for departure. Dress them for the journey ahead. We shall hold court once more in the meantime."

Right away, the servants began to scramble around the room. They took down the tapestries, the furnishings, and all the decorations with practiced efficiency. Ropes and baggage were used for the linen, cushions, and her dresses.

"Leave?!" Bell stepped forward in alarm. The two servants who came to him in order to dress him flinched away and bowed their heads. "What do you mean leave?"

Annalise looked at him with consideration. She stepped towards him with an intimate closeness but did not take the final step for them to touch. She spoke softly, "Good Hunter, thou'st cannot remain here. Orario craves thine head. Thou must return with us; thou wilt be safe behind the walls of Castle Cainhurst."

"But…" his eyes were wide. He almost took a step away from her… if not for his goddess. Hestia grabbed onto his arm and kept him in place. "Goddess?"

"Bell…" Hestia looked up at him with a hardened expression. "She's right. We can't stay here. They think you're the Crow and no amount of evidence is going to say otherwise. They're determined to put you to the chopping block no matter what. I think… it would be best if we fled to Cainhurst. At least for a little bit until we can figure something out."

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Leave? Leave Orario? The Dungeon?

Leaving meant he would no longer be able to explore the Dungeon and fight against the monsters deep within. He wouldn't be able to further his dream in becoming a true hero or even the greatest adventurer like how he promised to his grandfather. He would no longer be able to gather magic stones to feed his goddess nor have weekly meetings with his Guild advisor.

And there was another thought: Eina. He would never be able to see her again. Not just her— his teammates, Welf and Lilly. He would be leaving them behind.

He would never be able to see any of his friends. Not _Miach Familia_ who helped him with potions. Not the girls at the Benevolent Mistress who rooted for him on a daily basis… especially Syr, who had confessed her love for him and desired to couple with him.

He would no longer be able to hold training sessions with his admiration, Aiz.

"Dost thou still desire to be a hero?" Annalise spoke, sensing his thoughts. Or, perhaps, noticing the way his eyes stared at the tent flap leading back to the highroad. "Thou owest nothing to them. Thou art already a most glorious and prized champion. We are living proof of thine triumphs. Thine blood… is proof enough of the most accomplished deed. Dost thou disagree, _Paleblood_?"

He looked at her. She knew all about him. She somehow knew about everything he accomplished in the Hunt.

"What more dost thou wish to prove?" she took the final step and took his hand in hers. "Thou hast already traverseth through an adventurer none else could complete. Thou art the greatest adventurer. Thy duty is complete. Let others resume thy plight while thou takes thy rightful place at our side. Ist not the greatest hero worthy of becoming a king?"

His duty… complete? No, it was far from over. If anything, the Dream had been nothing more than an interruption. Before, he was an adventurer who was unfortunate enough to be killed by a stray Minotaur. When he returned from the Dream, he was back where he started.

He was still an adventurer to his core.

But… the Dungeon was in the heart of Orario. And Orario wanted him dead.

"Bell," Hestia took his other hand. She shot Annalise a jealous and petty glare before turning back to him. "I know what you're thinking. But think a little more carefully. I know that you'll be leaving your friends behind. I get that. But you can't help them. They'll be in danger if you stay. Until this whole Crow business blows over, they'll be criminals through affiliation."

While his friends were on his mind, they weren't at the front. Everything in his body was screaming at him to return to Orario and dive into the Dungeon. Now more than ever, with the threat of potentially never returning, he wanted to go into the Dungeon and fight monsters.

It was from recognizing this sudden craving did he recall several things:

The warning Lyu gave him about bloodlust.

The parting words from Lady Maria.

The advice from the man at the Gathering of the Gods.

The accusation given from the Bloody Crow.

…At what point did he start to become the very thing he swore to never become? When did he start to crave the Hunt? How deep was he in bloodlust and madness that he didn't recognize the signs until the threat of never hunting again made him worried?

"Will I ever be able to come back?" he asked them both.

Hestia didn't have an assured answer. Her eyes flicked up towards Annalise.

"One day," Annalise told him. "But not as an adventurer. It shall be as the King of Cainhurst. Mayhap, with the Goddess Hestia, thou wilt be able to walk through those gates."

It meant he would be under the same political scrutiny as Annalise. She was only allowed to come and go through Orario because she was using the city as neutral grounds in order to talk to Rakia's representatives. He would need the same permission… provided Orario would be willing to let someone like him back in at all.

"One day," he said, promising more to himself than to either of them. "Okay. I'll go with you, Annalise. But please promise me I'll be back here."

He had no right to ask her of this. She, who had deployed her best warriors to illegally escort him out of the city. Regardless if that one Royal Guard turned traitor, there was still blood attached to her name. That man killed a few of the security guards and attempted to kill Eina.

…Not to mention it was the Bloody Crow himself who sent Apollo back to Tenkai.

"Of course, dear husband," Annalise promised. "Time is not our ally. We depart immediately before the city cometh for thou. We will send for thou once matters are settled with our court."

Her hand lingered on his a little longer, no more than a breath. She released her grip and stepped away from him. She bowed regally, and he returned with an awkward version of his own out of politeness. It caused her to smile in both warmth and humor. With that, she turned and strode towards the Bloody Crow.

It was then did the servants standing aside leapt at him. He yelped as a few arms tugged on him and his clothing. His shirt and pants were off of him before he could understand what was going on.

Hestia, meanwhile, was gracefully escorted behind a screen before the maids tended to her.

0-0-0

"We must make haste," Annalise said once she was out of the tent. The High Chamberlain followed her, acting as her shadow and matching her steps in perfect stride and rhythm. "Assemble the court and bringeth to us the prisoners. Thou wilst take command of half of our forces. Thou will stall as long as possible. Prevent Orario's adventurers from pursuing us in our retreat."

She stopped to turn to him. She owed him, her most loyal of servants, this much.

She was asking him to leave her, to make a final stand, and to die for her.

There was no doubt in his abilities and loyalty. She knew he was as strong as the best of adventurers. He had ventured through the previous world just as the Good Hunter had. His story never ended, having served her for a century as they climbed to power through blood.

He was, in a sense, her one and only friend.

He understood this. All of it. Without hesitation, he performed the Cainhurst salute: a hand to his chest with the other extended out towards his side as he bowed at the waist.

She read through his movements. His bow was full of undying loyalty, absolute and unquestionable fealty, and… a touch of romanticized love and adoration. Just as all other Vilebloods, he had desired to be the one to grant her a child of blood.

When he raised himself, he stepped away. He moved to meet her demands, vanishing like a dark wind.

She continued to stride towards the tent used to hold court. She knew by the time she arrived would her precious Vilebloods and their sacrifices to her would be ready.

0-0-0

Underneath the Guild was a grant antechamber carved out of stone. Rather than being lit by magic stone lamps, large torches burned with fire along the middle pathway. A large stairway led up towards a throne. And upon that throne sat a single individual dressed in black robes with the hood drawn to shadow his grim face.

"Mardeel," Uranus, the god who secretly commanded the Guild, gazed down from his throne at the fat elf struggling to kneel afore him. "I have orders for you."

"Yes, Lord Uranus," Royman Mardeel, the head of the Guild, lowered his head as he awaited commands from his true master.

Uranus said nothing at first. His eyes narrowed as though displeased by Royman in some way. The elf chanced a glimpse upwards through the ridge of his brow, wondering what caused the ancient god to pause for so long.

"You will issue a Mission to _Hermes Familia_ and _Loki Familia_ ," Uranus said, his voice echoing throughout the antechamber. "They are to retrieve Bell Cranel and bring him back to the city."

"Yes, Lord Uranus," Royman bowed his head and began to raise to his feet.

"There is more," Uranus said suddenly. "You will pardon Cranel of his charges relating to the god-slayer known as the Crow."

"L-Lord Uranus!" Royman blanched. "With all due respect, sir, but the boy is clearly guilty! Even if we do pardon him, there will be unrest throughout the city! It'll be like five years ago all over again!"

"I am aware and have already executed a plan," Uranus cut him off from further telling him what he already knew.

"Y-You did?"

"It is not for you to be concerned about. Evidence of Cranel's innocence will come to light in due time. Your job is to make sure he returns to the city."

Royman fidgeted where he knelt, "My Lord, if I may be so bold as to ask… why Cranel? With Cainhurst declaring war on us, wouldn't it be best to allow him to leave? Cainhurst has what they want. If we pursue, there will be more blood."

"Do you ask out of the concern for those lives or for the stipulate the Guild will have to pay for the _familias_ whose children will be lost?"

"For the lives, of course," Royman answered hurriedly, patting against his brow with a handkerchief as a bead of sweat rose quickly.

Uranus' eyes narrowed slightly but did not call him out on his obvious selfishness. "Very well. Once Cranel is back in the city, you will make a public announcement. Cranel… is the remaining survivor of _Zeus Familia_."

"E-Eh?" Royman dropped his handkerchief. "Is this true?! But… that's impossible. _Zeus Familia_ and _Hera Familia_ were completely wiped out."

"It is not but it will be used as an excuse to explain his current Level," Uranus answered readily. "You will announce the Guild has been keeping his identity a secret in order to secure his status from the former enemies of _Zeus Familia_."

Royman lowered his head and thought silently. "Yes… it might be able to explain a few things. Not everyone will be fooled, but if it comes directly from the Guild they can't argue. However, it might cripple the credibility of the Guild itself. The gods at the Denatus will surely be upset by this overruling. My Lord, why are we using our own expenses to assure his safety? This I do not understand."

Uranus didn't answer right away. He grimaced as his head turned towards his right. They glared at something. Though, he knew, Royman would not be able to see what lay in the darkness. Nevertheless, _it_ stared back at him, watching everything with careful and undistracted precision.

"We will use this to gain a debt with _Hestia Familia_ ," Uranus explained. "There are only three Level Seven adventurers in Orario; one belonging to Freya, who goes along with the Guild when it suits her, and the other a criminal belonging to a god who wants nothing but destruction. Bell Cranel is the third and belongs to a goddess with no worth in the grand scheme. However, if we secure his future in the city…"

"Then the Guild gains a Level Seven adventurer of their own without breaking any of the accords," Royman gasped in awe. "That's brilliant, Lord Uranus! I see it now! I will carry out your will at once."

"You may leave now," Uranus said as he leaned back in his throne.

Royman grunted as he struggled back to his feet, bowed in respect to the primordial god, and wobbled out of the underground temple.

"…It is done," Uranus growled with irritation once he knew Royman was gone from the vicinity.

"Thank you, God Uranus," returned the abomination from elsewhere. It stepped out of the darkness with the reds and yellows of a nearby torch lightings its face. It wore the skin of porcelain just as easily Uranus wore his dark cloak. It did not represent who he was, which wasn't it point.

Just like his cloak, the guise as an autonomous doll hid its true form.

"Will you return them now, _outsider_?" Uranus demanded, unable to hide the sneer of disgust at the thing's identification. He knew its name. But he dared not speak it. Names had power along with acknowledgement. He didn't want to acknowledge the thing that didn't belong in his reality any further than the damage it had already caused.

"Yes," the thing said in a monotone voice. "However… we will be keeping Freya's prized children. The rest we will make sure reach the surface safely."

"That's not what we agreed to," Uranus said, his hands gripping onto the armrest with enough power to make the stone crack.

"Perhaps," the thing said with a tilt of its head. It mimicked human emotion, never emulating or sympathizing it. It only performed what it saw. "We need a reason for the Good Hunter to venture into the Dungeon. You will make him. Through… a Guild Mission, just like the one you made just now."

He didn't retort. He could argue with the thing further but it would only wind up in the same outcome. He would make a counter and so too would it. Dozens of points and threats would be made on both sides and they would return to right now.

"I must ask the same question as my subordinate," Uranus spoke up. "Tell me, what makes Bell Cranel so special to… something like you?"

It didn't try to fool him with some feigned ignorance or cluelessness. The thing went still, sinking into its true self while its outward appearance was petrified through inactivity. It would be liken to someone in this reality pausing to consider their answer.

Suddenly, the thing began to move. It moved its head around as its eyes darted across the underground temple. It observed its surroundings as though seeing them for the first time ever. And with as much observational care, its eyes traced his entire being.

"It's curious," the thing began. "He's never seen you, nor is he aware of your presence. And yet you are here. You involve yourself in the machinations of this world as though you wield actual importance. Are you like Gehrman? No… you act as a guide… just as I once did."

Uranus went still. He understood the words of the abomination.

"So he's _that_ then," he said more to himself than to it. The answer shook him.

The thing bowed, dismissing itself, and returned to the shadows. He knew it was gone as soon as the last light of the flame was off its shroud.

"Uranus," someone spoke up once the invader was gone.

"Fels," Uranus answered.

Another appeared at the footsteps of his throne. A skeletal being beneath dark robes that hid his entire being. This was Fels the Fool, an alchemist worthy of legend who had created the Philosopher Stone and acquired as close as true immortality as anyone else in history.

Despite no longer having vocal chords, Fels spoke clearly, "Are you sure it is wise to listen to this creature? If it is what you believe it to be, wouldn't it be best to destroy it while we had the chance? A simple blast from my magic would have sufficed."

"That would have only destroyed the vessel," Uranus shook his head. "No, for the time being, we will play its game. There is much we do not know about it… as well as these _Hunters_ it brought with it."

Fels bowed his head while he clasped his hands through the sleeves of his baggy robes, "It frightens me how similar their Blood Echoes are to excelia and falna. But, if you say they do not share the same origin, I will believe you. However… it cannot be excused they have already defeated _Freya Familia_."

"Hence why a bargain was made, Fels," Uranus almost growled. "We cannot afford to lose _Freya Familia_. If we lose them, the city's power will become destabilized. Many will try to claim that power for themselves."

"…And the Evilus will have another reason to no longer be afraid," Fels finished. "But to keep their elite warriors? Freya's power will be crippled regardless. I don't believe that will be enough to put us in the red. Can we not ignore its demand? It seems issuing a rescue mission is exactly what it wants. And it wants Cranel for some reason."

"You told me… the Hunters are after him, is this not correct?"

"Yes," Fels answered immediately. "There have been a few skirmishes against him. Most of which having against Maria of Monsterphilia. I believe she started to antagonize him as early as a month ago, a week before Monterphilia. Other than that, two others have attacked him in the Dungeon. Their bodies were disposed of. I haven't been able to gather anything further than that."

This information had been shared before. Uranus was only being reminded.

"Uranus," Fels spoke in a bold voice. "What is it? You know exactly what Cranel means to that thing. I saw it in your eyes. Will you not share so I may better understand?"

Uranus frowned, "It is worse than we feared, Fels. We thought to use Cranel's power against Evilus when the time was right. But… it might be best if he never returned to the Dungeon.

"I fear… if Cranel reaches the bottom of the Dungeon, our entire world will end."

0-0-0

Finn felt worse than that one time he tried to outdrink Gareth. He felt dehydrated, his head was ringing, the light of the room hurt his eyes, and every fiber of his being was screaming in agony.

Well, that's usually what happens when he tried to body-check an arcane blast from a Crozzo sword. Sure, he still managed to kill his target, but at what cost?

"Captain?"

As he slowly stirred back into consciousness (while not fully waking up), he recognized the voice of a highly concerned and overly passionate Tione.

He heard her sniff, and then, "Caaaaptaaaaaaain!"

And then throw herself on top of him. _Now_ he was awake. His chest burned worse than the time that elder dragon shot him with a fire missile.

He may or may not have screamed like a prepubescent boy. And if so, he wasn't ashamed of it. The perks of being a prum… kinda.

"Tione," he hissed, biting back the pain as her Herculean strength grappled him. Her head was on his chest while her arms squeezed him hard enough to make his ribs groan. "I'm awake! I'm awake! Please let go of me."

He was on the verge of grabbing the nearest object— a basin of water— and smacking her head with it before she loosened up and raised her head. Her eyes were full of tears as she looked up at him.

"Captain," she sniffed. "They said you wouldn't wake up. Even when Riveria healed you… there were all those burns and scars. She said the magic interfered with her healing. I thought… that you…"

Oh, he could imagine Riveria having to explain everything to a frantic Tione. Then Tione threatening the elf into doing a better job. _Then_ Riveria putting Tione down because not even Gareth and Finn could talk smack to her when they grouped up against her.

"I'm alright," he assured her with a sigh. Honestly, this girl was so much trouble when it came to her affections for him. Still, he patted her head, which loosened her deathly grip on him. "It was my fault anyways. I wasn't expecting a Crozzo magic item when I should have. After all, they originated from Rakia."

While Tione began to calm down, he checked his perimeter. They were inside a new tent he didn't recognize but his instincts told him they weren't too far away from the battlefield. This was probably a new station commissioned since theirs was destroyed in cannon fire.

"Tione," his voice returned to that of a commanding general once things calmed down enough. "Tell me what happened."

"Yes, Captain," Tione brushed off the tears with the back of her hand and looked at him squarely. No matter how serious she looked… he couldn't help but notice she continued to lay on top of him. "Riveria was able to take out nine of the twenty-one projectile weapons with her magic. Five others were destroyed by us or other adventurers. The battle escalated until both sides received heavy losses. In order to recover our wounded, both sides accepted a ceasefire. That was over seven hours ago."

"That means there are seven cannons remaining," he grumbled sourly. "What about our losses? How many did we lose?"

"Everyone from the leading group survived," Tione answered dutifully. It meant all of _Loki Familia's_ elite survived. "However, we lost a lot from the lower ranks. Some were taken prisoner by Cainhurst. The same could be said with other _familias_. You will have to ask Riveria for a specific number."

He scowled as his heart lurched. Those that were taken prisoner would not be returning. The Vilebloods would sacrifice them to their queen in order to increase their strength. He cursed himself for his inadequacy and his unpreparedness. He should have seen the invasion coming as well as their tactics. He had the information from both words for fuck's sake!

"Captain?" Tione spoke softly.

He cursed himself again. His anger was showing.

"I trust Loki was able to get away?" he asked, trying to avert the question in her eyes.

"Yes," she answered immediately, nodding with her chin running up and down his chest. She _still_ refused to get off of him. "Aiz took her back to the gates and joined in the battle shortly after. She saved a lot of our skins with her magic. I think that's why we were able to salvage so many of our members."

"I trust with all this noise Finn is awake?" Riveria stepped inside, brushing the tent flap aside and scowling at the two of them.

"Ah, Riveria!" Finn smiled at her. "Please save me."

"Eh?!" Tione looked at him with betrayal.

"As much as I don't want to intrude," Riveria began dryly, "now isn't the time for these things. Tione, I need Finn. We received a Mission from the Guild."

Tione pouted but got off of him. She returned to her seat at his side while he was allowed to sit up. He winced as his chest throbbed. He was covered in bandages and ointment. His body was also sore.

He bit back the pain and kept his face stoic, "Tell me what they want."

Riveria joined their company and announced, "Late last night, Cainhurst infiltrated the city walls and abducted a number of people. Their attack outside was just a distraction. Bell Cranel, Goddess Hestia, and Welf Crozzo of _Hephaestus Familia_ were taken. The Guild is demanding we retrieve Cranel at any cost."

" _Just_ Cranel?" he wanted to confirm. "What about Crozzo? If Cainhurst manages to get their hands on his family magic weapons…"

"He is currently in the hands of Rakia," she answered.

"Is that why Rakia joined with Cainhurst?" Tione sat up straight. "They wanted _more_ Crozzo weapons and helped Cainhurst for that?"

"We can only assume," Riveria answered. "With Rakia and Cainhurst preparing for an emergency retreat from our lands, the city's attention is divided. One team will be going after Crozzo while we are tasked with pursuing Cranel."

"Both armies are retreating," he half-asked and half-stated. His strategic mind told him it was ideal. While Orario was recovering from the battle before, now was the perfect time to pack up and leave. Even if it meant leaving their wounded behind. Both enemies knew they wouldn't be able to stand up against Orario without heavy losses. Now that they had what they wanted, they had no reason to stay.

"But what of our losses?" he asked. "Is the Guild aware of how much manpower we lost? Are we in any condition to follow through with this Mission?"

"Captain," Tione began firmly, "I think you should let Riveria and Gareth worry about that. You're still hurt. You're not in any condition to be worrying about this."

"I've been through worse," he grumbled, recalling the time he was bleeding out as Simon back in the Fishing Hamlet. He wondered briefly if the Good Hunter wouldn't be in his current position if he gave him the Bowblade. Would the Good Hunter use that instead of the Blade of Mercy? Who knows?

"With Cainhurst crippled," Riveria began, already aware of Finn's habits, including his unrelenting resolve to carry out his job, "the elite members will be the leading front. Cainhurst, at this moment, is preparing to split its army. Half will remain here to stall time while the other half will escort the queen back to the highway. _Hermes Familia_ will be used as a scouting party to keep track of their movements."

" _Hermes_ , huh?" he brought his thumb to his lips. "We don't know the roads as well as they do. Having them involved only makes sense. Actually, yes, we can use this to our advantage."

Both Riveria and Tione blinked at him. The former in curiosity while the latter in confusion.

"We'll go along with the Guild for the time being," he ordered. "However, once the Good Hunter is in our custody, we will keep him housed with us. I'm sure we can come up with some excuse to hold him in our personal care before handing him off to the Guild. This is the best we can do to prolong his execution."

This was good. Very good. Now he had a reason to help the Good Hunter rather than sit with his thumb under his ass. Before, he had to stop two armies from overtaking the city. Now that the Queen went around his precautions and took Bell hostage, he had no reason to not get involved. Now he could save Bell from certain death.

This might be the only time he was grateful to make a mistake. If his defenses had been flawless, Bell would still be in the Guild dungeons and be executed in a matter of hours.

"You're asking us to hold a fugitive of the law," Riveria pointed out.

"No, I'm making it an executive order," he countered. "You know as well as I do the Good Hunter isn't what he's accused of."

"You're putting the entirety of _Loki Familia_ on the line for a personal debt," Riveria continued, but there wasn't a speck of critique in her voice.

"I owe him nothing," he returned. "But he is someone I respect just as much as I do with you. I would do just as much for you."

Finally, Riveria cracked a smile, "I'm sure Aiz will have your full support. That girl hasn't been herself since the verdict was shared."

"I hope not too much," he shared a smile with her. "I already have more than enough to deal with."

They both shared their own version of chuckles— Riveria snorting in a single puff of air while he hummed to himself. In between, Tione's shoulders slouched as she gave Finn a good stare, knowing she was the center of his joke.

"How soon can we move out?" he asked, slowly returning to his commanding tone.

"Operations begin at dawn," Riveria announced. She blinked as her eyes flicked over to the tent wall. She calculated the time since he was unconscious. "Five hours from now. Will you be ready?"

"I will be," Finn said firmly. "Do me a favor and pass on a request to Bete. Tell him to return to the Twilight House and retrieve my sword. I'll need it."

Riveria nodded. Without a word, she stepped out of the tent.

"Captain, you're in no condition to lead," Tione spoke up. "Let Riveria or Gareth deal with the operation. You're especially in no condition to be fighting."

He ran his fingers across his chest. The wounds ached but they weren't crippling. He knew in the heat of battle he could ignore them without making them worse.

Besides, he kept a few Blood Vials in his personal sack at all times.

"I'll be fine," he told her. "I need to be. I'm still the captain of _Loki Familia_. I will not lay down while other members are risking their lives on this mission. But… I won't be at my full strength. Can I lean on your for the time being, Tione?"

He had her. She gasped and blushed up a storm. Her eyes lit up in dazzle. She promised to support him completely with fire burning in her voice.

Well, that was one distraction out of the way. Now he had to figure out how he was going to fight against a group of Vilebloods who he knew grew tremendously courteously from the last battle.

0-0-0

"Come again?" Hephaestus glowered.

"Now, now," Hermes put up his hands in defense. Asfi wasn't here to help him so he was on his own to ease the wrath of the forge goddess. "I'll say it again. The Guild has issued me a Mission to assist _Loki Familia_ to go after Cranel. Meaning I'm forced to use all our resources and regretfully abandon your request. There's nothing my _familia_ can do for you."

They were in her office when he came to deliver the news. He eyed Tsubaki and the way she was clutching that katana of hers tightly. He knew she would never use it to harm another god, but the murderous intent he felt radiating off of her didn't calm his nerves.

"Then there's nothing you can do for Welf?" Hephaestus asked. She had her hands clasped together and elbows propped. Her one eye glared like the fires of the underworld at him.

"I didn't say that," he adjusted his hat out of habit. He didn't smile at her; not that it would work against her anyways. "I'm saying my _familia_ can't help you with your request. I understand how bad things will be with Mister Crozzo now that Rakia has their hands on him. It'll be disastrous to everyone if he remains there."

"Then what are you offering?" Hephaestus demanded. She wasn't in the mood for his games. "Can you or can you not help me recover Welf?"

Her emotions were too devoted in this, he noted. Welf was something special to her. He had noticed upon that night when he displayed his abilities to his _familia_. While any other god would have used this to their advantage, Hermes wasn't one such character. He only learned Welf was truly a Hunter.

Okay, so, _maybe_ he was taking advantage of this.

"I can," he said, choosing to not play his typical word game with her. Especially her. He didn't have the stomach to play with someone so invested in this. "Things are just a little more complicated than they should be. I'm going to be blunt with you, Hephaestus— I know Crozzo is a Powder Keg."

He paused to let the revelation soak in. At one, he revealed he knew Welf's status. At another, he _knew_ , which told them a story and a half about him. Tsubaki glanced at her goddess, wondering how she should react with this information. Hephaestus didn't blink, completely unfazed outwardly by this.

"As the leading source of information sharing," he began to explain, "a lot of things come and go through me. My children are all across the continent and some overseas. We hear things. I've known about the existence of Hunters for some time. I recognized Mister Crozzo for what he was on that night at the pier."

"What do you have to gain by telling me this?" Hephaestus questioned.

"An understanding," he offered. "You and I are friends. I have no intentions of abandoning your request. Believe me, leaving Mister Crozzo in Ares' hands will doom us in the long run. But the Guild has deemed Mister Cranel more important."

"Lord Hermes," Tsubaki spoke up, impatience in her tone. "If your _familia_ is unable to assist us, what can you do for us?"

"As I said," his tone shifted. Now came the hard part. "I've known about the existence of Hunters for some time. Mister Crozzo isn't the only one I've come across within the city. There are others."

"And you're saying they are willing to help?" Hephaestus leaned forward. "Who are they?"

He didn't answer right away. His eyes moved over to the file cabinet. While it _was_ used to hold records and keep her schedule organized, Hermes had known Hephaestus for a long time. He knew that if he opened the cabinets in a sequence of order at certain degrees, liken to a combination, the latch hidden behind it would click and reveal a hidden safe within the wall.

And everyone thought her secret forge behind her office was the real secret.

"Hephaestus," he turned and met her gaze. His own was solid. "I'm going to need the Blade of Mercy."

Her brow twitched. An entire conversation was shared between them. That, no, he wasn't talking about the version the Guild had confiscated; he wanted the one he knew she bought from Hestia. And that, yes, he had every intention of using them.

And, yes, he intended to give them to the actual Crow.

"I have one question," Hephaestus muttered in a low voice.

"No one within the city," he answered, already knowing. "It took some convincing. She has an extremely strict creed when it comes to selecting her target. She picks only those who go mad with bloodlust. Normally, I'd ask her to jump in there and free him under cover of darkness. But… a target is still needed. We need to prove Bell Cranel isn't the Crow. Therefore…"

"Someone needs to die," she finished with a heavy frown.

"Two birds with one stone," he tried to lighten the conversation with a smile of his own.

It didn't help. Those who were killed by the Blade of Mercy didn't return to Heaven. Their eternal divine presence was lost forever to the endless chaos. Killing a god with a mortal weapon wasn't the ultimate taboo. Killing a god with the Blade of Mercy was something unspeakable.

And yet, he had indirectly told her he was going to do just that.

Hephaestus didn't move. She remained still while her mind raced. He could only wait for her to answer. He knew what he was asking was a lot. There would be no forgiveness once this path was made. They would be betraying their own if she accepted.

Instead of going towards the file cabinet, she pulled a drawer out from her desk and fumbled with the contents. Hermes heard the sound of something being unlocked… and she pulled out the profaned instrument bundled in black leather.

Well, well. He didn't know as much about her as he had believed.

She carried the Blade of Mercy with both hands as she approached him. She held it out for him. He didn't give her one of his charming smiles as he accepted it. However, she didn't let go. His eyes matched her crimson orb.

"You will return this," she said, her voice refusing any argument. " _No one_ should have the power to kill a god."

No words were needed. He didn't even have to nod. The message was received.

She released her grip.

0-0-0

Dawn.

It had been thirteen hours since the battle at dusk. The land was torn apart and scorched black by the use of Crozzo magic weapons along with Cainhurst gunpowder armaments. The fields were drenched with blood of the fallen, the wounded, and the crazed Vilebloods. Both sides had agreed to a ceasefire in order to tend to their wounded and collect their dead.

However, several adventurers were taken as prisoners of war. Though their respective _familias_ would fight tooth and nail to recover them, Finn had told those he trusted there was no point in it.

Regardless, this had sparked a fire of outrage within the adventurers. Gone was the agreement to deal with the outside invaders independently. The captains of each respective _familia_ acknowledged Finn as the commanding officer in order to coordinate a counter-attack.

As such, Finn stood on top of the hill by the command tent. The table was brought outside that held a map, markers and idols, scrolls and ink, as well as binoculars and telescopes. And at his side, resting at his hip, was the Bowblade retrieved from his private quarters in the Twilight House. A set of Quicksilver arrows were within his reach as soon as he would need them.

The adventurers stood in a wide wing formation, spread out in order to minimalize the effectiveness of the remaining Cainhurst cannons. _Loki Familia_ was at the center; their purpose was to be the main assault while the others would circle around and flank the Cainhurst Vilebloods. Finn had coordinated how many numbers would be in the main army, who will be in the support teams, and who will be in reinforcements should things turn dire.

There were a total of 290 assault adventurers, 112 support, 60 medical, and 25 messengers to relay his orders.

His eyes flicked over to the other side of the lot. The Rakia camp was still preparing to leave. Their larger numbers would require a greater deal of time to coordinate. Still, there was no sense of urgency in their movements. They somehow knew Orario wouldn't be after them despite going against the armistice.

The Queen had already fled before dawn. There was nothing they could do to pursue her— at least not right now. Right now, they had to deal with the army she left behind to cover her tracks.

The previous battle had crippled their already small numbers. What started with 5000 Cainhurst Vilebloods upon their arrival in Orario territory had dropped down to… no more than 300. At the least, 300 of Cainhurst's most loyal stood ready to oppose him. The Queen would have taken at least a quarter of her remaining army for both protection as well as to quickly escape.

But what bothered Finn the most weren't the numbers. There was no doubt the remaining 300 Vilebloods would have grown tremendously because of the amount of corpses to deliver to their Queen. What bothered him were the ones who stood at the front of her army.

He counted ten Royal Guards… and the High Chamberlain at the front.

The High Chamberlain drew his Chikage and rose its tip into the air. He flicked it around, twirling and jerking the blade as though carving out of the sky. Finn had no idea what it meant.

It was a signal, he found out shortly after. The man never once spoke, according to Loki.

Cannons bellowed as they shot their projectiles at the Orario army. Finn didn't issue any command as he watched the cannonballs sail through the air towards him.

Magic shields had been erected by the joint effort of the magic casters within the army. He had told them Cainhurst would try to take out the biggest threats first— that being each _familias'_ captains as well as any chain of command such as squad leaders and messengers. He wasn't wrong. The cannons had been aimed at those exactly.

The chunk of Quicksilver splattered across the magic barrier placed meders outside his tent. He watched it with an almost bored expression.

Cainhurst hadn't tried to bombard them with continuous fire like in the previous battle. They had hoped to cripple Orario with a surprise assault with everything they had left. It had failed.

Now, it was Finn's turn.

"Advance!" he commanded, his voice booming.

Echoes were called and horns were blown. Flags were raised. A universal cry of battle sang through the throats of every adventurer below as they raised their weapons and charged for the Cainhurst army.

The High Chamberlain raised his sword once more. But not in signal like before.

"HOnOr oF CaiNhUrst!" his voice vibrated like a Monster Rex ready to challenge Finn's finest.

"For the Honor of Cainhurst!" his followers roared in unison.

They charged. The High Chamberlain, the Royal Guards, and the common Vileblood rode on horseback with their Chikage and Reiterpallache ready.

And then, there came the inevitable thunderous boom when two armies collided.

0-0-0

Aiz Wallenstein was an adventurer, not a soldier. Though the practice was similar in theory, the actual execution had her in a completely different world. She fought monsters in the Dungeon and was one of the best at it. Killing monsters gave her a number of martial skills with her sword, Desperate. Skills she could use here.

It wasn't the first time she took another life. But never had she done so in such sheer numbers.

War was and wasn't like Dungeon raids. There were things that needed to be cut down, orders she needed to follow, critical targets she had to focus on, and coordinate and support her teammates at every chance. She and her teammates had plenty of experience in this field and were able to put their techniques to use here. However…

There was something different when the thing at the end of her blade shared intelligence.

The lives she took, they were once people with aspirations and goals. They had a history she will never learn about. They were people who picked up the sword because they chose a path they believed in.

While she had considered these things, she put them in the back of her mind. She kept going.

War was hectic, almost— if not just as— chaotic as Dungeon raids. The unified army of Orario started to work together at the first charge, and so too did Cainhurst. Orders had been given on both sides throughout the conflict. But as time drew out, as bodies began to pile up, there stopped being two different sides as both armies intermixed with another.

Still, she made sure to keep track of her most precious teammates. She would run into them on occasion, they share a moment of surprise or offer support, and then they would return to the fray.

There was also something… disturbing about her enemy.

They took pleasure in the conflict. They bore their fangs with their bloodthirsty smiles as they dueled each of the adventurers in private engagements. There was no sense of self-preservation in their moves. They surrendered defense in favor of offense.

They fought with nothing to lose, she realized. They had no intentions of winning this battle. They accepted they would not return to their homeland. They were going to sacrifice everything in order to take out as many adventurers as possible.

Aiz sympathized with them. She might even go as far as to say she admired them. But that was as far as it went. After all, she would never agree with them. They, who gave up getting stronger and had no further interest in it.

She was here to get stronger. For her goal.

The Knight in dark silver armor, a Cainhurst Royal Guard, had taken her a considerable amount of time for her to put down. Every sword skill she had acquired through blood and sweat had been used in their duel. There was a level of respect the two of them shared as their swords clashed. He was powerful, strong and swift enough to challenge her on equal footing. But she was victorious in the end.

She rammed Desperate through his chestplate as soon as she saw an opportunity.

She stared down at what should have been the best of Cainhurst. The man bled out through a punctured heart, twitching his last as she felt his eyes through his faceless helm. She clutched Desperate in a tight grip.

 _Not good enough_. She couldn't get stronger from an opponent like this. _She_ was faster. _She_ was relentless. _She_ had techniques that had taught Aiz so much in every skirmish. This Royal Guard was nothing compared to _her_.

As if to answer her prayers, something gained her attention. Despite all the sounds of steel clashing, magic exchanging, shouting, and flesh parting, something distinct drew her towards the core of the battle. She turned, her eyes searching for this offset.

It was the leader of the Cainhurst army. He dressed in the armors of the Royal Guards but donned a black suit and shredded cape instead of the chestplate. A trail of blood followed him wherever he moved.

She watched him glide through the rampage of his allies and enemies, cutting down any and all adventurers unfortunate enough to come within his range. His Chikage was not a series of strokes or various techniques, but one universal swing in a perpetual motion. Nothing could stop him. Everything in his path, from be the best swords to the best shields and armor, could not so much as hinder him from meeting death.

He moved like someone who had lived through this one battle a hundred-thousand times and knew all of its secrets as easily as the back of his hand. There was no flaw in his movements. He knew how exactly to kill his target with the minimalist of motions, effort, and power. He was a walking storm of blood and death.

Aiz fought her way towards him, cutting down Vilebloods along the way. Her eyes never left him despite being surrounded by blades and firearms on all sides. She followed the High Chamberlain with the intention of crossing blades against him.

As though sensing her approach, the High Chamberlain altered his course. There was no hitch in his movements. He continued to glide his blade through adventurer after adventurer without the slightest hesitation or slowing of pace. She might have even imagined his sudden change… if not for the fact she was quickly approaching him.

She heard the familiar voices of her teammates within the tides of battle around her. She ignored them. All of her focus was on the High Chamberlain.

They both cut down one last enemy before finding a clearing. Their swords were brought around at another's.

She parried his swipe, danced on her heels to avoid the follow-up that would have torn open her stomach, and brought a riposte.

He brought up a guard. There was the briefest pause, the smallest of twitches in his grip. She would have missed it if she hadn't been keeping track of his habits. He was surprised she was the first to have been able to last this long against him.

The moment past. It was no longer than a flash.

Desperate and Chikage created sparks as they intercepted and exchanged blow after blow. The reach of his Chikage was a few celch longer than her Desperate, but it only had a single edge. However, their styles were different. Despite the both of them being swift in their footwork and favored endless assaults, her technique relied on blunt trauma while his was carving.

Still, for the moment, they were matched. She didn't know how many seconds had passed as they exchanged a total of thirty-nine moves. The noise around her muffled out. Only their duel mattered.

He changed tactics. He sheathed the Chikage and went for a low stance.

Everything screamed at her… death was upon her.

He stepped forward, closing the gap between them faster than she could blink. All the while, he drew out the Chikage. She recognized the technique as a bastardized version of the quick draw favored by the Far East. The swing was faster than it would normally be.

But instead of flashing silver, his blade was red.

With fresh blood.

Her body reacted before her mind could finish the process of what she observed. Desperate was brought around to intercept his Chikage while she lunged back with all her strength.

She felt a sharp pain as his blade sailed around, missing her sword entirely. It should have missed her… but the blood coating the edge of his weapon had extended its range by an additional ten celch.

She clutched at her wounded side. He had drawn first blood.

He gripped his Chikage with both hands, the sword raised at his front. The blood coating it, reflecting an unnaturally bright red color, dripped down and puddled at the guard.

Blood dripped onto the dirt. But not from the sword. It came… from his gauntlets.

She understood now. The use of blood as a weapon… it wasn't just her instincts recalling a certain memory. The High Chamberlain knew a technique similar to _her_. He was using his own blood and a secret skill in order to increase his offensive capabilities.

This… this was what she wanted.

She would grow stronger once she defeated him. She will be one step closer to overcoming that woman. And… maybe a step closer to reaching _him_.

"Awaken," she muttered as she clutched her sword. "Ariel."

Wind danced around her as she called upon her magic. A powerful cyclone of air revolved around her being as well as coated her sword.

The High Chamberlain did not pause to consider her ace. He moved to attack. He brought his Chikage around in a diagonal arch directed at her collar.

Desperate was there to parry. Her magic, Ariel, had helped her pushed away the blade but, just like when against that woman, the blood was able to pierce through her defenses. However, it couldn't reach her if she could properly defend against his sword strikes.

She turned things around when she went on the offensive. With Ariel supporting her, she brought around a chain of attacks at the High Chamberlain. He met her blade with as much ferocity, his blood splashing around as her wind magic forced his sword back to and fro.

They were now back as equals. Her ultimate sword and shield spell was able to counter his penetrating blood magic. At the same time, he was able to stop her from overpowering him with her unique magic. They were reverted back to using sword techniques to determine which was the superior fighter.

At some point, their duel had gained the attention of everyone around her. The fighting near them had ceased. Their space was cleared as both adventurers and Vilebloods created a ring around them. Even the bodies had been dragged out to give them a fair chance.

It meant nothing to her. She couldn't afford to be distracted by this observation. The moment she lost focus would she lose. It was the same way with him.

But how long would this last? Her magic was not infinite. It was only active so long as she had the mind to keep it running. She didn't have any mind potions with her— even assuming if she could use them with how rapid their exchanges were.

And yet, he was in the same boat, wasn't he? Eventually he would run out of blood.

He knew this. His attacks were becoming less fluid and more frenzied. By no means were they sloppy and reckless. There was as much clinical precision in his attacks as before. It was just… a shift in his mindset.

She thought nothing of it. She was so focused on defeating him she never considered the altercation of what this meant. She only believed he wanted to finish their duel before he bled out.

Their blades collided and they were locked for half a second. But in that short amount of time… she heard a deep growl come from him.

He pushed her away with a surprising amount of strength she hadn't seen in him before. It pushed her a few short meders away with her heels digging into the dirt. She expected him to rush at her like before. But instead…

Her eyes widened as blood _exploded_ out of his back.

A pair of leathery wings stretched out of his back, having extended after breaking free from his skin. They were soaked in blood.

The High Chamberlain began to twitch violently, his head jerking around. He continued to growl.

The growl became a roar as he raised his head towards the sky and let loose an impossible sound out of his throat. More blood exploded from him. His clothes and armor were shredded, unable to fully cover the sudden transformation.

What stood before Aiz was hardly a man. The High Chamberlain had grown an additional meder in height. His suit was stretched to the brim as it struggled to keep the extra muscle and mass. His entire left arm was long enough for the clawed hand to be dragged against the floor. A pair of horns pierced through the roof of his faceless helm while his jaw had snapped off the bottom half. His teeth were triangular and as sharp as knives.

Aiz was left frozen, staring in shock of the monstrosity before her.

The shock nearly cost her her life. Only her survival instincts saved her as the thing that was once the High Chamberlain came at her. He moved faster than before, extending a claw at her. Her Ariel tore through the flesh but he showed no signs of being slowed down. The sharp nails would have ripped her apart.

She dove to the side at the last instance, though not unscathed. He had cut into her shoulder and across her cheek.

Before she could finish rolling back onto her feet, he brought his Chikage around. She had been so frazzled by his monstrous form she had almost forgotten he wielded his blade in his human hand.

Not only was his swing fast enough to make the wind screech, it had _power_ backed behind it. The sheer force of the metal itself was strong enough to overcome her Ariel defenses.

And because his raw strength could do that, the blood coating the blade had no problem reaching her.

However… in exchange for this new form and power, he had given up his graceful movements. No more was he a painter creating a multiple layered canvas. He was a common butcher.

He was a monster. She could fight this still!

"Aiz!" she heard someone— Tione, her mind told her— call out.

There were others. Adventurers not just from her _familia_ stepping up. They were going to interfere.

"Don't," she said. Her voice was quiet, but she made sure they would hear her. She raised Desperate up in a guard while keeping her eyes locked on the High Chamberlain. "He's mine."

She would not allow _anyone_ to assist her. Not since that woman had come and trampled on her pride. The loss wasn't what hurt Aiz the most.

It was the fact she needed to be saved. She, deemed the Sword Princess, had to be saved. It was proof she was nowhere near her goal if she needed to be rescued like a damsel. She _needed_ to grow stronger.

And one day, _she_ will be the one who will rescue the one she admired the most.

One day, she will stand at his side.

Whether anyone was willing to listen to her testament or not, there wasn't enough time to make sure. No sooner than the last syllable was out of her breath did the High Chamberlain resume his assault. His attacks were brutal and harsh, nearly knocking her off her feet with every attack. He cut into her with claws and blade at almost every time.

But she remained on her feet. She was watching him, studying him, looking for the one opportunity she would need to put him down. Her sword would not fail her. And she knew she had the mind to keep Ariel up a little longer.

She tested his defenses. When she found the chance, she brought her sword around. As deranged as he was, he was still aware her blade would harm him. A decent level of sanity remained in his mind despite the beastly frenzy he exuded. He was able to dodge and parry when needed.

Her breathing was becoming haggard. She was sweating with the droplets burning her eyes. She was starting to feel the weight of her body and the aching of her wounds. How much blood has she lost already? She couldn't even get a chance to drink any of the healing potions strapped to her thigh.

But her heart was racing. The thrill of battle was singing through her. How long had it been since she had been pushed this far? _This_ was what she was supposed to have experienced back in the Thirty-seventh Floor if that woman hadn't shown up.

In the next instant, as her blade clashed against his, he used the extraordinary reach of his inhuman limb to clasp onto her leg. Claws sank into her flesh while her Ariel tore apart his skin. She expected him to keep her in place while he hammered her away with his Chikage. Instead… he twisted himself around and flung her up into the sky.

Her body flipped around in the air. She struggled to regain control, her head whipping around back at the ground with each spin so to not get dizzy or lose sight of her target.

The High Chamberlain stretched his wings and leapt after her. His claw was extended towards her while his Chikage was angled to his side. He flew up to meet her.

She stopped spinning. How many meders up in the air had he thrown him? She might even say she was almost as high up as the city walls. With Ariel, she could survive the fall. But she had to first deal with the monster coming at her.

The High Chamberlain was in his element. He was an aviator, a predatory beast of the air who was using his wings to his full advantage. She, a creature of the earth, had little chance against him. Victory was surely his.

This. This was the chance she needed.

She twisted her body around to avoid the claw. The Chikage came next, going to swipe at her as he expected her to avoid his initial strike. His claw was just a distraction while the blade was the true threat.

"Awaken, _Tempest_."

When the enemy believes they have achieved victory, only then do they create an opening.

She reinforced her magic, sharpened it, focused it into a fine point. The gale surrounding her gathered all along her sword. A miniature storm brewed along her Desperate.

Just the same, she was giving up defense in order to acquire victory. In the end, it came down to which one of them would deliver the better killing blow.

Their blades clashed once more. But…

Neither the blood nor his monstrous strength was enough to penetrate. Her Desperate continued to travel while his Chikage… snapped in two.

Her Desperate pierced through his skull and travel along his spine. It split his wings.

She had won.

They fell together. His body creating a trail of blood as he descended while she took the time to recalibrate her magic to surround her once more. In doing so, his blood cycled around her, creating a layer of red mist.

Her landing forced her down onto one knee as well as a crater to form. But she had survived. Her Ariel had cushioned most of the impact for her.

She was the center of attention from both armies when she stood. The blood of the High Chamberlain danced around her, staining her once immaculate white gown.

A name was thrown around by both spectating parties.

 _War Princess_.

It meant nothing to her. All that registered in her mind was that the strongest of the enemy army was defeated. _By her_. Their commanding officer was out of commission and the rest of the enemy would soon follow. What would happen from here on out would be nothing more than a chore.

Her eyes flicked over towards the north-east.

"I'm coming to save you, Bell."

* * *

 _ **Pat reon: Arrixam**_


	20. Chapter 20

**AN:** There! I did it! It's finally done!

This took much longer than it should have. At first, it was just a burnout. I had hit a wall with motivation. Then, came the badgers asking me when the next update was. Those are normal. But I think what REALLY did it was whenever I updated a different story I would get the same question: "Paleblood when?"

That broke the camel's back. I purposely stopped writing this out of spite. A previous author note said I was petty enough to do it and they didn't believe me.

Now, the Cainhurst arc is (technically) over with this chapter. Sorry to say but I will be taking a break from this story to update my other fanfiction projects. I'll also be posting a RWBY (shootmebeforeIbecomeapartofthissite'smediocrityclub) story relatively soon so check that out.

Other than that, it's 4:45am upon writing this note. I am tired AF.

Thanks for your patience and thank you for reading.

Now, on with the show!

* * *

Finn has read his fair share of the _Dungeon Oratoria,_ a collection of stories featuring heroes and epics dating as far back as the Ancient Times. As an experienced adventurer, he hated the book. It was overly glorified. It tickled the fancy of any ignorant fool about saving the princess, slaying the dragon, overthrowing the evil emperor, and countless other shenanigans that made adventuring sound amazing. The gods knew how many fools became adventurers because they read the stories.

What the book failed to explain was all the grit that came with adventuring.

Finn stared out into the open field. What was once wide open space full of grass, flora, and sloping hills was now a sea of black stained territory. He watched as adventurers roamed around to collect spoils of victory as well as to clean up the field of the dead. Fallen adventurers were being put on stretchers and carried off regardless of rank or _familia_ allegiance. Cainhurst Vilebloods, however, were piled onto carts before being stripped of their weapons and dumped into one of many recently dug pits.

Two of the pits were filled to the brim and set ablaze. It was no funeral pyre. They treated the Cainhurst Knights as an infestation. Which, to be quite honest, wasn't far from the truth. Too many had transformed into beasts before the adventurers' eyes. Something about them was unnatural and they were being treated in death the same way they were cut down in life.

What _Dungeon Oratoria_ , or any god for that matter, wanted to admit was the aftermath of those stories. It failed to share with the reader about the sacrifices the hero had to make. The stench of blood and feces by the score. The trauma captured when taking another intelligent life. The boiling hatred blistering within the hearts of everyone participating.

Regardless if it was their victory, Cainhurst had fought to their utmost last and took out a hefty sum of adventurers with them. He could feel their laughter as they made their way to the underworld.

"Finn, they're ready for the briefing."

He didn't respond to Riveria right away. His eyes kept looming over the blackened land and the rising smoke. His fingers stroked the handle of the Bow Blade strapped to his side. While giving out commands to messengers to relay onto the battlefield, he had sniped Vilebloods from his post. He only aimed for those that were starting to change the tides of the battle rather than aiming pointlessly at any common soldier.

He'd be finishing everything needed for the raid if Cainhurst and Rakia hadn't shown up at their doorstep. This entire battle was pointless. Lives were lost over a needless cause. He didn't know whether to blame Cainhurst for their selfish queen, Apollo for starting a fire that consumed the entire city, or the Good Hunter for being the center of all this.

How many of his own men and women did he lose? How many did the lower echelons of _Loki Familia_ pay the ultimate price? Did they even know what they had died for? Finn sure as hell didn't know why he was fighting in the first place. Because the Guild told him to? Because Cainhurst struck first? Because they kidnapped the Good Hunter?

He swallowed all these thoughts. He cleared his mind of all distractions and went back into the command tent. Riveria joined him at his side without saying a word.

Within the tent were only the select few members of _Loki Familia_ he found best suited for the task at hand as well as those he could trust to not argue with him. The rest were elsewhere on cleanup and relief duty. They were being kept occupied for the moment.

He eyed briefly to the one adventurer not of his _familia_. Asfi Andromeda gave him a brisk nod as she stood at the table's edge where the map of the outlands was spread out.

"We haven't much time," he began as he approached. "The remaining Cainhurst forces have half a day ahead of us. By the time we are able to regain our bearings and organize a proper assault unit, they will have a full day to cover their tracks. We need a swift strike force to hit them while they're running. That's why I asked the two of you to be here. You're the fastest members of our _familia_."

Aiz continued to stare at him unblinkingly as she absorbed every word of him. Bete crossed his arms and shifted his balance on one leg. His eyes scanned the map while his lips twitched.

"Based on the numbers displayed today," he went on, "we can assume Cainhurst has less than ten percent of their total army safeguarding their queen. However, that doesn't mean we can be rash about this and attack them blindly. We don't know the lands as well as they do. That's why I want the two of you to track them down, locate Cranel, and retrieve him. Your objective is not to take out the remaining Cainhurst forces; your objective is only to recover Cranel. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Aiz said immediately.

"Got it," Bete said bluntly. He waved a hand in gesture, "But it's not gonna be as simple as sneaking around and carrying him out under cover of darkness. If he's important enough to that wench to leave most of her army behind, he'll be guarded well enough. Aiz and I aren't exactly the quiet types. Do we have a backup or are we allowed to improvise?"

Finn almost sighed. Bete was a little bloodthirsty after the battle. Most adventurers were. They still wanted to make Cainhurst pay for their fellows' blood being spilt. For all his crassness and bravado, Bete was one of those hurting the most.

"So long as it doesn't jeopardize your mission, you are free to do what is necessary," Finn concurred. "Cranel's safety takes priority. Miss Andromeda, can you please share with us the information your unit has collected?"

Asfi adjusted her glasses and leaned over the table. Her finger traced along one of the several roads displayed. "The queen has been following this path thus far. It's not the fastest way to Cainhurst; we assume she is taking this road to confuse us. Although, she is moving with her caravan as fast as possible. By nightfall she should arrive at this location."

She pointed to a random section in the mountains. Finn had never heard of it. But that's why _Hermes Familia_ was the one tracking them and not his.

"We can't assume she will be stopping to make camp," Riveria commented. "Sitting idly while we hunt her down wouldn't bode well with her. Especially when she is this weak."

"Let's say she continues to travel then," Finn stuck his thumb at his lower lip, on the verge of biting onto it. "How far do you expect her to reach post-dawn?"

Asfi looked troubled, "I'm afraid that's as far as our predictions can go. If she is to continue traveling, she may wind up taking any number of roads. It's possible she might dare to go into one of the caverns. It's unlikely, but we can't rule out that possibility given her circumstances."

"Then we have only one chance before we lose her completely," Finn summed up.

"Yes," Asfi nodded. "And once they reach Cainhurst territory, it would take an invading force to retrieve Cranel. I doubt you or any _familia_ will be willing to risk that much even if it's a Guild directive."

"That's the situation," he said back to Aiz and Bete. "Get there as fast as you can."

"We'll make it before nightfall," Aiz assured.

Bete gave her a sideways glance.

"Aiz," Riveria gave her a stern look. "It's not wise to be so hasty. Do not push yourself that hard, especially when the blood of today's battle has yet to dry. You took out the enemy commander personally. That must have taken a toll on your stamina."

"I'm fine," she insisted. "I rested before the briefing and took a dual potion. Bete and I can take more if needed near our arrival."

"It's no substitution for rest," Finn commented, already knowing his words would fall on deaf ears. He instead looked over to Bete for confirmation. "Bete, I'll leave the call up to you. Do you think the two of you can reach their camp by nightfall?"

Bete was quiet for a moment. Aiz glanced over to him, staring at him intensely in an attempt to send some kind of message through his skull. He noticed it but went back to staring at the map, which led to her staring at him even harder.

He eventually sighed with resignation, "The darkness will better conceal us since this is a stealth mission. Yeah. We'll get there by nightfall."

It was Asfi who looked the most troubled. She adjusted her glasses, studied the map briefly, and looked back at the two of them. "Very well. I will provide you with guidance. However, I will need an hour to prepare."

"There you have it," Finn spoke with authority. "You leave as soon as Miss Andromeda is ready. Your orders now are to be on standby. I strongly suggest you take advantage of the time and rest up."

He said the last part while looking at Aiz. She only nodded.

"Got it," Bete affirmed.

"Good, then you're dismissed. Good luck out there."

They split up after that. Asfi left the tent to prepare for the journey ahead with Bete leaving shortly behind her to do his own thing. Aiz, however, moved to one corner of the tent, laid down on her back, and was immediately asleep. She took Finn's suggestion to rest as seriously as she did with any other order he ever gave her. A little too seriously, sometimes.

"What about Rakia?" Riveria suddenly asked. "They attacked us yesterday. The Guild didn't give us any orders to deal with them."

The Rakia camp was still squatting in Orario territory, almost mocking them. Or provoking their wrath. It wouldn't be too hard to rally everyone together for another battle and wipe them out. Finn wasn't a warmonger… but he couldn't exactly call himself a pacifist either.

"Who knows?" he shrugged. "The Guild won't let them go without reparations. It's also not like them to keep us all in the dark. Considering _Ganesha Familia_ is preparing its troops again, the Guild probably contacted them directly about it. All we can do is wait and see."

That was all he had to say on the matter. He excused himself from Riveria as he headed out of the tent. He was still the commanding general of the unified army. There was still a lot of work to be done even when the battle was over.

They say ninety percent of war was prep. Scholars failed to calculate how much cleanup went into it.

0-0-0

Bell had been inside this carriage before… back when the High Chamberlain abducted him off of the streets per demand from Queen Annalise. The walls were made out of a dark wood that was almost black, the cushions made of dyed velvet and stuffed with soft yet firm material for comfort, and gold decorated the walls and linings in either paint, lace, or twisted metal. It was also spacious enough to fit three times as the amount of company it carried right now.

Despite the size, his goddess claimed otherwise and continuously pressed herself against his side throughout the journey. He wouldn't mind her company, as she did this often back in the underground room of the church, but it was her attire that made him uncomfortable.

While he had been dressed in an altered version of the Cainhurst Knight suit, Hestia wore a black and red dress befitting the Cainhurst fashion. It included a long deep red skirt with a black veil over the upper half, a black corset with red lacing that was ready to burst open with the way her breasts were squished against it, long red gloves that ran up to her shoulders, and a small top hat the size of her fist that had to be clipped into her hair.

It was the corset that drove him crazy. Her previous white dress was already an eyesore. He struggled on a daily basis to not stare at her cleavage and he was gradually getting used to it. But this corset was a new level of distraction he wasn't sure where to look.

…At least the corset stopped them from jiggling. There was that mercy.

The carriage rocked and swayed. They had been sitting in here long enough to get used to it. His goddess no longer had motion sickness.

He had no idea how much time had passed. There was a black curtain over the windows and when curiosity got the better of him, he pulled one edge back to take a peak outside. Only… the windows were there for pure decoration. He couldn't see outside and the only light seeping through was from the cracks in the doorway. He couldn't survey the scenery and was left to study every inch of the interior of the carriage.

He wound up counting the number of stitches in his seat, the amount of golden dots in the Cainhurst sigil over their heads, and to go through every story within _Dungeon Oratoria_ in his head.

He also had the chance to take a nap.

It was boring being on the run.

"Annalise?" he spoke softly.

"Yes?" she answered just as softly.

She had been so still in her seat he wasn't sure if she was asleep or not. Any conversation he tried to start up with her had fallen short. And anything they discussed in more than a few sentences had already been discussed in full. The silence in-between he could manage. It was the boredom and inability to see outside the walls that made him anxious.

Hestia wasn't all that different. They always talked when they were alone so there wasn't anything new to convey about. And what little topics they could find were concluded. She sat, leaning one shoulder against him, while drumming a beat with her hands on her thighs. She stopped to glance at Bell with curiosity once he spoke up after the long silence.

"Can you tell me a little more about Cainhurst?" he asked.

"This again?" Annalise's head tilted slightly. She didn't sound annoyed (as far as he could tell) but rather dispassionate. "As we hath told thee, thou shall receive a full education by the best tutors. All of thine curiosity will be satiated in due time."

Seeing as the conversation was going to drop dead again, Hestia went back to drumming.

He sank further into his seat. Doing this much made his back and butt sore. He had been sitting in place for too long. "I know. It's just… since I'll be staying there for some time, I thought I should know about it a little. When I first came to Orario, I didn't know anything about the city. I was just a country bumpkin to them. I don't want to seem like that when I arrive at Cainhurst."

She didn't say anything. He figured his latest attempt of learning anything (or even driving away boredom) had failed just as brilliantly as the others. Disappointment washed through him as he looked away. He would need to figure out how to make this long journey more manageable.

"Thou'st to be King one day…" Annalise said suddenly. Her face turned towards the window; she was silent a moment longer before, "A brief introduction may be in order."

"…Eh?" he blinked.

Hestia stopped drumming to give her the same look.

"Was this not thine desire?" Annalise questioned. The smallest curve of her lips gave a hint of displeasure.

"No, no, no," Bell shook his head a few too many times. "I'm just surprised that… N-Never mind. Please proceed. I'm listening."

Annalise dipped her head a fraction. She opened her mouth and began to tell Bell the glorious history of Cainhurst.

…He should have finished counting the stitches in the seat.

He had expected some gallant story about a hero uniting the people which would eventually lead up to the Kingdom of Cainhurst. Actually, Cainhurst wasn't even the name of the kingdom. Cainhurst was just the name of the capital city. Spread out from the main castle were smaller villages and fortresses. And each one of them was ruled by a Cainhurst Knight, who were adequately ranked according to their social status and power.

The lecture was rather droll.

He didn't try to interrupt because he was the one who asked for this. Plus, Hestia looked enthralled by the topic. She nodded her head rigorously at every detail.

But it wasn't until she mentioned the rankings of the nobility, and thus mentioning the position of the High Chamberlain, did he realize something.

"Annalise?" he spoke up once he found an opportunity. "I wanted to ask. How did you come to know the Bloody— the High Chamberlain?"

Her lips pressed into a thin line. "Thou art referring to the vagabond, oft named Bloody Crow by the common folk? Hmm. Such a man was but a wanderer who stumbled upon our lands. He offered us his services and Blood Dregs in exchange for resources. When his thirst was quenched, he left. We know not what came of him thereafter."

There was more to the story. There had to be. There was no way a random stranger would present himself to Annalise and make his way to the rank of Royal Guard. Bell _might_ be an exception because he stumbled upon the queen when there was nobody left in her court. She was desperate for new recruits and had offered her blood to him.

He chose to not press. If she didn't want to talk about it then that was fine.

"You're talking about that other place, aren't you?" Hestia asked. "Wait. _That guy_ is the Bloody Crow?! Bell, didn't you say that was the guy who killed Eileen?"

"Oh?" curiosity arose from Annalise. "Goddess Hestia, our husband hath spoken of his misadventures in Yharnam?"

"Obviously," Hestia said as she latched her arms around one of Bell's, pressing herself against him even further. She gave the queen a blunt glare, "Bell and I are really close to each other. We never keep secrets. I know _everything_ about him."

He saw the corner of Annalise's lip twitched. Aside from that, her face was a complete mask. "Yes, t'would be most expected between an adventurer and his goddess. Thy intimacy is envious. But be cautious, Goddess Hestia. Such public display of affection may be confused with adultery. Remember, the Good Hunter is our husband."

Hestia glowered as she puffed her cheeks and squeezed Bell harder. The pressure was strong enough to leave his arm numb.

"Ah, Annalise," he spoke up once sensing another argument between the two would break out, thus leaving him in prolonged silence and boredom. "Where I was going with this was… How did you wind up here in the Waking World? Were you originally someone from this world?"

From what he understood, all of the Hunters who went through the Dream had been someone from this land who were killed one way or another. They woke up in the Hunter's Dream, had an audience with the Doll and Gehrman, and remained there once the night was done.

It was only after Bell ended the Dream did all the abducted Hunters reawaken back in this world, moments prior to their death but with all the experience and knowledge they collected within the Dream. If Annalise was here, it meant she had to be one of those people.

"Cainhurst hast always been our home," she said plainly. "We hath ruled long before the founding of the Healing Church… and thus long before those fools made contact with the Moon Presence. This land is foreign to us. We know not how we came upon this land."

That… didn't make any sense.

Then again, how was it possible the Doll and the original Hunters came to this world? If they could be here then why not someone like Annalise? Perhaps breaking the Dream had deeper repercussions than Bell thought.

But if Annalise could come here without reason, then who else might be here? What other party aside from the Hunters and Vilebloods could have made their way to this world? Could one of the dwellers from the Pthumerian Tombs crossed over?

…Could a Great One be here?

"Thou art plagued with trepidation," Annalise observed. "Do not allow these thoughts to haunt thy mind. We hath pondered our arrival out of curiosity and nothing more. It is but a fleeting memory now. All that concerns us is the present and near future. Thy future, dear husband."

"Yeah, but," Hestia was the one who argued back. "Isn't that a little too important to just shrug off? I get Bell being here because someone kidnapped him. But how did you get here? Someone must have been able to bring you here! And that someone might still be out there!"

A single huff of laughter came from Annalise, "The Goddess Hestia concerns herself with matters of heavenly doctrine. We hath almost believed thou'st but a mortal girl with mundane desires."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Hestia rose out of her seat. She was the only one short enough to be able to stand without hitting her head on the ceiling.

"Goddess, I'm sure she didn't mean anything by it," Bell tried to assure her… as well as hold her back. "Right, Annalise?"

Annalise propped her elbow on the armrest but didn't rest her head on it. Though she did lean most of her weight on her arm. She also didn't try to hide the frown. "Consider it thy first taste of Cainhurst humor."

"There, see goddess?" Bell said as he tugged on her shoulders, trying to get her to sit back down. "There's no reason to get upset. Please sit back down."

Hestia obliged. She continued to glare at Annalise in silence.

Bell sighed with relief before going back to the conversation. "I think my goddess has the right of mind. Maybe we are a little over our heads. But every day I ask myself how I was able to become a Hunter in the first place. I escaped from the Dream but… There's no guarantee the same thing won't happen again."

They all sat in silence. The only noise being made was the rumbling of the cart on the road.

"I sat upon the throne within my prison," Annalise spoke softly, almost distantly. "I awaited thy return. We knew thou would'st never return when the moon descendeth from the sky. And yet… a selfish wish escaped our lips. We desired to see thou again. Here we are. With you. Our wish hath been fulfilled."

She shifted around in her seat. He knew from her posture she would not speak again for quite some time.

He was content with this silence. The boredom didn't bother him this time. He had plenty to think about.

There was a deeper meaning behind her words.

0-0-0

They ran, blowing through scenery at speeds only the fastest of predators could travel. They who were blessed with the divinity of the gods transcended the limits of mortal men. Open fields of grass became forests. Forests opened up into hills. And hills eventually turned into rocky mountain valleys.

They stopped on occasion to review their location and the path they needed to take. They did not stop to rest. Something was driving her to push beyond her limits while the other kept up to ensure her safety. He worried for her but would not voice his concerns.

They drank stamina potions whenever possible. He noticed she drank more than he did. She lied when she said she wasn't tired. Stamina potions energized the body but it did not heal fatigue. Health potions could patch up wounds but it did not alleviate the stress from torn muscles.

When they reached the point in the journey where his breathing was starting to pick up, she was already sweating.

They avoided monsters when it wasn't necessary to hunt them. Those that blocked their path were cut through with an almost malice and merciless brutality by her.

"How much further?

"Where to next?

"Will we make it on time?"

These were the questions she asked whenever they stopped to convey their location. He purposely took longer than they should have to review the map as well as search for their guide. She should have stayed behind. She needed to rest. She had fought the hardest against a monster few would be able to face. Even he wasn't sure if he could have defeated that crow demon.

It was too late to turn back. They had a mission to complete.

Why was he risking so much for some chump? Bell Cranel was nothing but a liar. He thought the boy was nothing but a rookie who didn't belong in the world of adventurers. He was proven otherwise when the boy unleashed killing intent greater than any Monster Rex he came across. In that moment, he truly believed the boy was more monster than human.

He also wondered why she was pushing herself for him. Did she really fancy him that much? What was she striving to obtain from saving him?

He didn't understand. And perhaps that was why he carried on with the mission.

Hours passed as they crossed landscapes. The sun was starting to descend. They were running out of time.

0-0-0

Nameless Cainhurst Royal Guard #10 had pulled the short end of the straw. His fellow remaining Royal Guard had the luxury of leading the remainder of Her Royal Highness' army at the front. Meanwhile, he was tasked with watching their backs for potential pursuers. A noble task, surely, but he loathed all the dust being kicked up by the caravans ahead of him.

Contrary to the fantasies portrayed by the common folk and those bastards called adventurers, horses were not strong enough to carry fully plated men throughout the entirety of a journey. He was forced to walk on foot whenever the terrain was uneven and when his horse started to tire. It aggravated his mood even further.

The journey ahead would be long and trying. But he had enough cursed blood within him to outlast the lesser Knights. After all, he had ascended to the rank of Royal Guard. A little walking wouldn't bother him. It was merely the mediocrity of it all.

They say even the sharpest of minds grow dull with boredom. That is only if they allow themselves to stay stagnant. Though nothing fascinating had happened thus far on their venture— aside from the wild harpies and dire wolves that dared to try them— it was the lack of entertainment that sharpened his mind beyond a casual day of bloodshed.

With long periods of nothing happening, even the smallest of distractions tended to gain his attention.

…Such as the flying object circling over their caravan.

He looked up and eyed the creature. It was too high up for a normal bird. Its wings were also magical based on the glow. And the formation of the creature was just wrong. It appeared as though the wings were strapped to the heels rather than—

The creature above them was an adventurer, he realized.

In that instance, his senses sharpened and spread out. He reeled his horse into a halt. The regimen around him halted like trained monkeys.

His head snapped over his shoulder.

He saw a shimmer of gold within a world of dirt.

"Kenki!" he screeched as he drew his weapon. He turned his horse and charged back up the road.

0-0-0

Bete clicked his tongue where he crouched, "They spotted us. We need to pull back Aiz. We're not ready to engage them so soon—"

The girl leapt out of their hiding spot and landed onto the dirt road. She drew out Desperate and launched herself at the charging Royal Guard.

"…Dammit all!" Bete swore with his fangs bared. He didn't understand what was driving Aiz so much. She was always reckless but never this suicidal. It was too late to fall back now. He leapt over the pile of rocks and slid down the slope. He didn't aim to support her against the Royal Guard. He tasked himself with intercepting the group of Knights coming to reinforce their commander.

So much for stealth.

The first thing Aiz needed to do was get that monster off his horse. While horses didn't offer any strategic or even physical advantage against an adventurer of her caliber, the Cainhurst soldiers knew techniques that were more annoying than dangerous. They didn't try to stampede through like the Rakian cavalry. Their goal was to strike swiftly at their side, circle around, and repeat.

After a morning of seeing this in action, Aiz already knew how to deal with them.

She ran forward and leapt up into the air, higher than most regular humans could. High enough for her to bring her leg around and kick the Royal Guard in the chest while his sword swing had been aimed at the ground level. Her heel met against plated metal and he was knocked off the seat of his mount.

The horse ran for a few meders before coming to a stop. It had been trained to stop once its master had been dismounted.

If he had been injured by her attack, he didn't let it show; he rolled with the momentum until he was back on his feet in the next second. He came at her with his katana aimed to swipe at the exposed gaps in her armor. He was faster than the horse.

She parried and retaliated. His swipes never overextended as his own deflections became a part of his counters. Everything he did was but one endless stroke. He kept his body tucked and favored his right shoulder forward to protect his heart. His footwork allowed him to dance around her attacks as well as to position himself within the perfect distance to both attack and defend.

He was taller than most Royal Guards she came across. His arms were longer than hers, which added to the overall reach when combined with the standard katana the Royal Guards used. She would need to get into his guard since her Desperate was shorter than his Chikage.

He knew this. He made sure to keep his distance for the full advantage.

She could tell he was weaker than most other Royal Guards. He wasn't as fast nor was he as strong. The bloodlust surrounding him, while stronger than even some of the more dangerous of adventurers, was nothing compared to those from the battlefield earlier. This one had more humanity within him than his brethren.

He knew this. She could sense it through his methods. Instead of being crippled by this, he used this to his advantage. He was a master duelist who used technique over raw strength and brutality.

But even a master of the sword couldn't stand up against an adventurer two or even three Levels above them. This man had only the surface of talent the High Chamberlain did. And he had none of the impossible strength and speed as that monster. Aiz knew she could overpower him with her raw stats.

…So then why couldn't she win? Why couldn't she get a clean hit? Why was he able to nick her with shallow cuts? Why was every attack she deflected making her bones ache?

He knew this. He could see it in her movements. But rather than be greedy and go for the sure victorious stroke, he remained cautious. He would make her bleed rather than deliver the dolorous blow.

"Aiz!" Bete shouted in alarm.

While he was dealing with the red-clad Knights, reinforcements had arrived. More Knights appeared from the front of the caravan. They surrounded Bete and kept him from coming to her aid. He could deal with one or two at a time. But in they were using their numbers to their advantage and attacking him in unison. And they were learning of his peculiar fighting style.

Ignoring him completely was the last Royal Guard in the army. He had been at the front of the caravan and carried the Cainhurst flag upon a spear. He rode past Bete on horseback and charged straight for Aiz.

"Blood for the Queen!" he shouted in a guttural voice that wasn't human.

She had to roll out of the way as his horse trampled over where she was just standing, narrowly missing the Royal Guard who had to leap to the side. As he traveled, he swiped the spear across in her direction. The tip cut into her waist but was far from fatal. However, blood dripped out of her side when she rolled back onto her feet. If she moved too much then the wound would tear itself open and further the bleeding process. It had been a lucky strike on his part.

Instead of circling around for another strike, the Royal Guard climbed off his horse and marched steadily towards her. With one hand on the flag and another drawing out his Chikage, his faceless gaze fell upon her with a clinical awareness. He was plotting the best way to cut her down.

She clutched Desperate as her other hand pressed against her wounded side. She stood sideways, making sure her back was never exposed to either Royal Guards. At the front of her was the rocky slope she and Bete had been hiding within. Behind her was a cliff with a steep drop that would land her in a river several meders down. Her only choice was to fight.

The one with the flag charged at her first. He brought the spear tip around like a baton; the flag dragging behind and concealing his position for a fragment. The deep red was also a distraction; she found herself struggling whether to look at the spear or the flag as he moved.

She dodged and parried whenever necessary. He kept spinning the spear around by his forearm and elbow, sometimes bringing the butt of it around to slap at her openings. Once again it was the flag that distracted her when the shaft came around and the butt ended up smacking into her shoulder or knee.

There was also the katana to consider. Whenever she stepped inside the spear's reach, he would use the katana to block and shove her back or leap away.

But she was learning. She was figuring out his moves. She could read into what he would attempt next. After a few more exchanges, she was able to anticipate his next strike and avoid them entirely. The flag was no longer a distraction when she already knew what he was going to do three steps from now.

It wasn't until she started to gain the upper hand did the other Royal Guard step in. The one with the flag stepped back to allow their previous duel to continue. She barely had an instant to put up a guard before he brought his katana around in a series of chained strikes.

His method of fighting had changed. Where he was once cautious was he now aggressive. They would lock blades and he would ram his shoulder into it. He would push her. He would put more power into one swing when he knew she would block instead of parry.

He stepped back and the spearman stepped in. He had wrapped the flag around the shaft while she was occupied. Without a drag, the spear swirled around faster than before, throwing her off in a new wave of confusion. What moves she had anticipated before had surprised her yet again.

He brought the butt of the spear around and struck her across the jaw. She winced and stumbled to catch her footing.

Her foot slipped when there was no ground there to catch her. Her body began to fall backwards.

Her eyes widened as she realized they had intentionally pushed her towards the edge of the cliff. They knew they couldn't beat her in a battle of attrition despite her current state and their numbers.

In this state of off-balance, the first Royal Guard pulled out his firearm and aimed it at her chest. She raised her Desperate as she guessed the trajectory. The trigger was pulled. She guessed right as the projectile slammed into the side of her sword. But the power behind it guaranteed her fall.

Instinct had her reaching her hand out, hoping to catch the edge or even an protruding rock during her descent.

There came a swirl of mist and ash. Her hand clutched against another's.

"Do not rob me of your death, Sword Princess."

Maria stared down at her with a face of disappointment and annoyance. She pulled Aiz up, who stabbed Desperate into the cliff in order to level herself onto the surface. She stepped away from the girl and turned to regard the two Royal Guards she had blown past through her Quickening.

They were both studying her warily.

"…What are you doing here?" Aiz asked. Her breathing was hard. Her voice was softer than it usually was.

"I am not here for you," was Maria's only answer as she drew out her Rakuyo, breaking apart both blades and taking slow steps towards the two.

With the arrival of Maria… nothing had honestly changed in their agenda.

The Royal Guards came at her, one at a time like before. First was the spearman, who twirled his weapon around to both slice and bash at her with both sides. Maria gracefully dodged as she easily anticipated each move and stepped in for an attack. The Chikage was there to defend him from her sabre but her dagger went for a shank within the gap of his armor. He jerked away, drawing only a little bit of blood from his neck. He moved away from her immediately.

As soon as he stepped off, the other Royal Guard stepped in. He brought his katana around; Maria saw movement in the corner of her vision but didn't choose to defend.

Aiz crossed the gap and deflected the strike with her Desperate. She pushed off the Royal Guard and stood back-to-back against Maria.

She felt the curious gaze of Maria from behind. The moment passed.

A part of Aiz understood Maria was here for the same reasons as she. Normally, such a reason would be enough for her to turn her blade against the Hunter. But… given her current circumstances, attacking Maria would only result in more enemies than Aiz could handle. She was far from her peak, and she needed to be her absolute best if she was going to fight the woman again.

This did not make them allies. Having a common enemy did not mean they weren't going to try and kill the other within the near future.

Aiz targeted her original opponent. He readied himself, putting up his katana with the tip pointed at her.

Her body felt sluggish. It didn't want to respond to her. Bete had all the potions; she could really use one at the moment. It would help tremendously against her opponent. But she had been under worse conditions before.

They went at another, crossing blades in another attempt to outdo the other. Behind her, she heard the clashing of steel between Maria and the Royal Guard. While her focus was on this particular opponent, Aiz paid close attention to the sound of their battle. She felt no matter who won, there would be a blade pointed at her back.

Her current opponent was just as wary as before. He was cautious and steady. He kept up a solid defense as he wore her out. He never tried to use his firearm and continued to purely use his blade.

There came an understanding between the two of them. This was a duel. Whoever won proved they were the better swordsman. Nothing more.

Something made her instincts flare. Her head snapped over her shoulder as the rush of footsteps reached her ear. The Royal Guard Maria had been fighting went around her and charged at Aiz. With her blade locked against her opponent, he aimed to strike at her exposed back.

Strangely, as the man approached, Aiz understood the strategy behind it. If they took her out of the fight, then the two of them could fight against Maria together just as they had worked together against Aiz.

However, she refused to go down. She pushed against the locked sword and leapt towards the oncoming assaulter. Her body twisted at the last instant just as the tip of the spear tore through her battle dress. She winced as her already wounded side screamed and tore the flesh open further. She bit against the pain and brought her leg up to kick into his knee.

He staggered and chose to spin and fall into a roll to keep his momentum. He was able to bounce back onto his feet and join his comrade's side.

Meanwhile, Aiz's mind was going haywire as she tried to keep aware of her surroundings. At her front were two Royal Guards while Maria was at her back. The Hunter was approaching.

Aiz glanced over her shoulder to see Maria casually joining her at her side. The woman gave her a sideways glance. More agitation was read in her expression. She breathed out once in resignation, admitting to something that hurt her pride.

"This far out of the Dungeon… it would seem I cannot complete my task alone. Together then, Aiz Wallenstein. Do not think this makes us acquaintances."

She stole the words out of her mouth. Well, Aiz would have never voiced it aloud.

Aiz readied herself, standing in her usual form. She did what she could to keep her face stoic. She tried to not blink even as the trail of sweat burned her eyes or the throbbing of her side. She couldn't afford to show weakness to this woman, whom she swore to defeat one day.

The spearman undid the knot tying the flag down. He was going to use it to conceal his follow up techniques. And the first Royal Guard drew his firearm; he kept the blade pointed outward with the projectile pointed forward at the hip.

The spearman came at them first. Maria moved forward to intercept him. Her sabre deflected the spear while her dagger parried the katana. They were so close to another the Royal Guard in the back could not find an opening to shoot nor decide whether he should approach or not.

Aiz took this opportunity to assist Maria. When she saw an opening— the time in which the spear was deflected by the sabre— she launched forward and went for a feint. A feint, because she knew the other Royal Guard standing back would try something.

She anticipated correctly. He aimed his firearm at her and pulled the trigger. She aligned her Desperate with the barrel and deflected the bullet. Now he would need a moment to reload. Should she continue assisting Maria or should she go after the one in the back? The answer came as swiftly as the trigger was pulled.

She went for the strike at Maria's opponent. His head snapped at her even when his body was already moving upon instinct. While he could not deflect or dodge the swipe that would decapitate him, he could avoid the critical blow. He tucked his body to the side and let her blade cut into his armor and into his shoulder.

Despite his attempts to minimalize the damages, she had cut deep enough to leave his arm useless. He was forced to drop his Chikage and switch the spear into his favored arm. Even she could tell it was out of loyalty he refused to discard the flag when the Chikage had been his lifeline weapon. For it was the flag, the symbol of his sovereign, that was his pride as a Royal Guard.

It was this pride that would be his downfall.

Maria brought both of her of blades together in a flurry of movements. The Royal Guard kept his elbow at the center of the spear as he held onto the shaft, spinning on his heels to deflect and put distance between himself and his foes. Aiz followed through; she imposed herself on Maria's combos when he was retreating too far. The shift in opposition threw him off for he had a completely different style of fighting to go against.

Aiz didn't try to attack him like Maria. He would kept spinning his spear out of desperation. She calculated the timing in her head and went for the lunge. He twisted his body when he realized her attack had gotten through. Desperate had carved through the chestplate and had tasted blood. He was still alive, but the blow had thrown him off balance.

The other Royal Guard was coming to defend his brethren. Just as Aiz had defended her, Maria came forward to engage against him and prevent him from reaching Aiz. She locked blades with him and his defensive stances had him unable to overcome her to assist his comrade.

Aiz kept going. She pushed herself even as her body was screaming with exhaustion. She brought Desperate around in a series of attacks. He put up as best of a defense as he could but the strike to the chest was debilitating him. Blood gushed from his chest in the amount that would have crippled even the best of adventurers.

Eventually, he knew his life was forfeited. He would either fall by the blade or by blood loss. The shriek of despair and outrage coming out of him belonged to a beast. His body shook as he clenched against the spear and threw everything he had against her. He had forgone finesse in exchange for relentlessness. He brought the tip of the spear around like a hammer, constantly pummeling against her hasty defenses.

In the end, he overextended and overexerted himself. The spade cracked against the floor and he hunched over. It was in this moment both of them knew it was over. He didn't try to defend himself.

She brought Desperate around to cleave into the back of his helm. Her blade dug deep into the back of his neck, where the armor was thinnest. His body crashed against the floor, lifeless.

He never let go of the flag.

The remaining Cainhurst Royal Guard kept his blade raised. In spite of the death of his comrade, he did not go into a fit of outrage. If anything, it seemed to inspire him. It gave him strength. He did not fight desperately as one who believed they were going to lose no matter what. The amount of desperation in his movements spoke of a man who would lose everything _if_ his life was lost.

This was the last Royal Guard of Cainhurst. He could not allow himself to lose.

She understood. But that didn't mean he couldn't be cut down like the rest.

Desperate's blade was heavier than she wanted it to be. Such was the burden of her choices. Yet, she didn't regret them. She dug the blade out of the neck of her fallen victim and went to join Maria. Rather than engage one at a time in the Cainhurst's version of an honorable duel, Aiz and Maria overwhelmed him. When one of them attacked, the other would flank and get into his openings.

He fought viciously, desperately, like a monster of the Dungeon who had witnessed all of his kind before him perish. It wasn't far from the truth. He did not give up despite their unfair tactics or their how outclassed he was. He kept his blade raised and came at them with everything he had and then some.

Aiz found she could not defeat this man.

His blade cut into her. It deflected most of their attacks and retaliated with twice as much bloodshed when it failed. Though he might fall today, he was determined to have one or both of them fall with him. He kept swinging even when he was exposed. He made sure to reach them even if it would end him.

If she was in her peak condition, she knew she could best this man. She knew he was the weakest of the Royal Guards. And yet it was because of her stubbornness was he her better. Her exhaustion would ruin her.

But she couldn't understand why Maria was at this level. She, who had challenged her in her prime and defeated her twice, should be able to walk over this man. And yet, Maria could not best this man any better than Aiz could. What was her reason for being this weak?

 _"This far from the Dungeon…"_

Her words. She spoke those words when she demanded the two of them pair up. Did they mean something?

Their battle was falling into a stalemate. This lone Royal Guard was able to keep the two of them at bay while the main caravan continued to travel down the road. If things were not settled soon, they might be able to reach the crossroads. The Queen could take the highway, continue through the mountains, or enter through the tunnels. And from any of the roads they take after that, they could take any other split pathways thereafter. If things were not resolved soon, they will lose sight of the Queen until she reached Cainhurst.

She would lose Bell.

Bete was being overwhelmed. While he had been able to take out several Knights on his own, he had accumulated his own levels of wounds. He was bleeding profusely. His shoulders were slouched whenever he stood still long enough to catch his breath. For every three Knights he put down, one or two would be able to scratch him with their weapons.

He was doing what he could to keep them from supporting the last Royal Guard. At the same time, they were stopping him from carrying out their mission.

…What had she done? Aiz hadn't just jeopardized this mission. She might have gotten one of her closest friends killed. If they could not flee soon, Bete might die.

"Ah, finally. I've caught up."

Aiz became startled when someone spoke directly behind her. She leapt off to the side and turned her body so her back was no longer exposed to anyone. With Maria and the Royal Guard off to her side, she looked at the one who had appeared at the back of the road.

It was a seasoned man with long black hair and dressed in thick white robes decorated with embroidered golden sigils. He wore leather boots and gloves. His expression, while soft and somber, had been wrinkled with the stress of nearly ceaseless battle. This man reminded her of Gareth when they first met.

After all, this man was the one who challenged Gareth and Riveria down in the Dungeon several weeks ago. Just as Maria had attacked Aiz and her friends and Finn fought against an elderly man with a scythe. The man standing before her was one of the Hunters who ambushed _Loki Familia_ during their raid.

Resting on his shoulder was his weapon. It was a slab of rock carved into the crude shape of a sword.

"You took your time coming here," Maria regarded the man without taking her gaze away from her opponent.

The man acknowledged the presence of Aiz but did not introduce himself. He approached until he was within reaching distance of Maria, "I am not so blessed with your level of agility, Maria. Your haste has made you careless, it would seem. You should know this far out we are not what we should be. Move aside. This is my work to fulfill."

He moved to approach the Royal Guard. Aiz would have stopped him… hadn't Maria flashed her Rakuyo close to the girl's neck. A warning look came upon her eyes.

The man looked over his shoulder, completely dismissing the Royal Guard meders in front of him and capable of killing him. He gazed upon Aiz with a comforting expression, "That is unnecessary, Maria. Be still, Aiz Wallenstein. Your goal is the same as ours. I mean no harm to come before the Good Hunter. I am merely here to vanquish this… infestation."

The Royal Guard, who had been cautious up to this point, didn't take to kindly with his words. His body quivered with outrage before he changed stances. He had forgone defense in order to put his everything into this next blow. He kicked off the ground fast enough to leave a crack in the dirt he had stood upon. His blade lashed out in a dark silver streak.

The man before them spun fast enough to be a blur. The stone slab of a sword arched around off of his shoulder. He moved with the speed befitting of a first-rate adventurer.

His weapon crashed against the Chikage, shattering it upon impact and continuing to travel until it reached the armor. The Royal Guard didn't stand a chance as his weapon slammed into him without impediment. A thunderous echo shook the area as a cloud of dust erupted from where his body was crushed underneath.

Silence filled the territory. Bete's battle came to a halt as every Knight turned their heads towards the noise.

The man raised his weapon off of the ground but didn't place it back onto his shoulder. He raised it over his head as he began to move forward. His hand rested upon the flat of the blade.

"Vilebloods," his voice was full of condemnation. "You know not of what you do. You were never meant to come into contact with something that should not exist in this realm. Your minds are tainted with the bloodlust. You have become more beast than man. Allow me to cleanse you of this mistake. May you find peace in the next life. May the gods of this realm have mercy on your souls and permit you the reincarnation you deserve."

He slid his hand across the blade.

Aiz's eyes went wide as power filled the blade. No, more like the weapon had stirred out of its slumber and was rising up like a slumbering ancient dragon. Light poured out of the blade. A misty, pearly, incandescent blue light that shimmered like… moonlight.

He kept moving forward. The Knights closest to him moved away from Bete and came at him. One drew their firearm and pulled the trigger.

The man brought his weapon down, slamming it against the dirt.

The world in front of her was flooded with blue light.

0-0-0

"Let me go out there," Bell pleaded. "Whoever is coming for us doesn't need to be our enemy. I can talk to them. Let me persuade them to leave us alone."

He had been shaken out of his daydreams when noise arose outside of the carriage. It made him rise out of his seat and reach for weapons that weren't there… and slam his head against the ceiling. He recognized it as the shouting of alarm and orders. Something was happening outside but he couldn't see what was going on. Whatever was going on forced the carriage to move faster.

The sudden increase in speed knocked him off balance and tumbling forward.

…Right into Annalise's bosom.

One slap from Hestia later, he was able to piece together what was happening. They were on the run. It only made sense someone had come after him. He was a fugitive charged with being the god-slayer, the Crow. The Guild would want his head no matter what.

But who would the Guild task with accomplishing this task? Only the best _familias_ in the city. It had to be either _Ganesha, Loki,_ or _Freya Familia_. With the odds of it being _Loki Familia_ in a somewhat decent ratio, he wanted to take the chance and convince him to turn back before unnecessary bloodshed was spilt.

"Out of the question," Annalise's voice was sharp. "Dost thou believe the loyalties of the adventurers belong more to thyself over the city? Thou art a most desired bounty with the infamy of the most notorious criminal. If none would come to thy rescue before thine execution, who would venture this far for thyself but bounty collectors? We presseth forward and make for the ravine."

His hands clenched into tight fists. He looked at her squarely. "I can't just sit here like this. What if they're people I know? What if I can convince them to turn back? Neither the Knights nor the adventurers need to die today. Please, Annalise, let me try."

"I forbid it," she snapped at him. Her voice was trying, "Husband, we ask thou seeth through our eyes. Peace is not an option for them. Blood will be shedeth, for their cause is to bring thyself back. We cannot allow that. We presseth forward. We will keep thou safe."

He bowed his head. He tried to understand. He really did.

She was right. No one would have made it this far unless they meant to take him back by force. He was a wanted criminal. They weren't going to turn back if he asked nicely. Just as the adventurers would fight their way to reach him, the Queen's guard would do just as much to follow her commands. Bloodshed was unavoidable.

He hated it. It made him sick how much people were dying for _him_.

A part of him was terrified the ones who might die could very well be people he knew. What if someone from _Loki Familia_ died?

"Bell…"

His goddess reached a hand over his and gave it a comforting squeeze. When he looked up, he could only stare into her large blue eyes. They were so full of understanding and sympathy he was lost within them.

"I know it's painful," she said with a voice hurting. She was, after all, more than just the goddess of the hearth. She was the goddess of family and home. "I know you're upset. But this is what we agreed to. This is the burden we have to accept. Don't hate yourself for it. I will carry this burden with you. I will always be with you, Bell.

"Listen to Annalise. Stay put and let them fulfill their duty. Everything will be okay once we get out of Orario's borders. I promise."

Her words were full of empty promises. She didn't believe in those words. But even if she didn't, he would. He believed in his goddess.

With a heavy heart, he sat back in his seat. His goddess never let go of his hand.

He could only listen to the clashing of steel gradually grow distant as they continued to travel. The fighting was happening behind them and they were gaining distance. Before long, he couldn't hear any of it.

He didn't know why, but his body felt alert in an instant. His heart began to race. Cold sweat washed over him. The feeling of death breathing down his neck was all too familiar to him.

Without thought, he embraced his goddess.

"B-Bell! This is so sudden! I'm happy but there's a time and place for—"

Thunder bellowed outside and an instant later, the entire carriage was knocked onto its side. The three of them tumbled around, slamming into each other and the interior. He heard the whining of the horses and the outcries of the driver. He also heard of the alarm from the Knights and servants who were personally escorting the Queen's carriage.

"Goddess," he groaned but refused to move. His goddess lay on top of him, still bundled up in his arms. "Goddess, are you alright?"

She groaned back, lifting her head as a hand clutched against the side of her head. "What… What happened? Bell, are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," he said hurriedly. "Annalise? Annalise, are you okay?"

The Queen was sprawled beside him. Her body was crooked where she had landed but not inhumanly bent. Her voice was pained, but even, "We art… adequate. Dost thou still wish to speaketh of peace with thy _friends_?"

Shouting was heard outside. Knights were scrambling to secure the Queen and to surround the carriage in a defensive formation. More shouting was heard as the perpetrator was found.

Bell found his footing and climbed up to his feet, helping both Hestia and Annalise up to their feet. Hestia leaned on him while the Queen was able to stand on her own. The carriage door was thrown open and a Knight peered inside.

"Is Her Majesty unharmed?" she asked with a crazed look in her eyes.

"She's fine," Bell answered in everyone's stead. "What happened?"

"I do not answer to you, _common blood_ ," the Knight spat as though merely addressing him was the most disgusting thing she's ever done in her life. It made Bell gulp.

"Answer the question," Annalise spoke with authority.

The Knight winced with more disgust. But she wouldn't refuse an order from the Queen, "We were struck with cannon fire from above. The assailant took off. We've sent a party after him."

"Which way did he go?" Bell demanded.

"Bell…" Hestia looked at him. "We just talked about this."

"Thine goddess is correct," Annalise took her turn berating him. "Peace is not an option."

He looked at her. Not with the eyes of the adventurer. But with the eyes of a Hunter.

Her head raised the smallest of fractions in respect and awe. And, just maybe, a hint of a smile was there.

"You're right," he said in an even tone. "I get it. I'm not going to talk to them. You two were attacked because of me. I'm going to make sure that doesn't happen again."

"…Arm him," Annalise craned her head upwards towards the Knight. "Leave the hunt to him."

"Your Highness," the Knight glared at Bell with uncertainty and disdain. "I must insist against this. The attack on your being was an insult to us. Allow _us_ to redeem ourselves."

"You have your orders, countess," was the Queen's cold reply.

The Knight did not hide her frown of contempt. But she obeyed her orders and nodded once. She extended a hand out for Bell to reach.

"Bell," Hestia pressed her head against his chest and wrapped her arms around him. "Be careful out there. Don't do anything reckless. Make sure you return to me. No matter what, okay?"

"I promise, goddess," he said with a soft voice, dropping all the bloodlust in his voice with the drop of a hat. He patted her head tenderly.

He took the Knight's hand and climbed out of the carriage.

0-0-0

His heart was hammering. Rage was fueling him. How dare anybody attack his goddess? What gave them the right to endanger the one most precious to him? Whoever it was… they will _never_ have this chance again.

The Nameless Knight had indeed armed him, per request of the Queen. Albeit it had been at the bare minimum. He had been given a Reiterpallasch… without ammunition. It was one of the spare weapons.

This was fine. This was all he needed to kill his target.

He followed the path the Knights pointed down. He rushed down the road until he found a slope for him to climb. He leapt from rock to rock until he reached the next level of the mountain. He found himself soon after in a flat terrain that oversaw the road down below.

Scattered around him were the remains of the retaliation party. Six Knights lay dead. His eyes traced over their wounds to find the cause of death out of habit. But… he already knew his answer.

"Why if it isn't the accursed wench," sneered the man who assaulted his goddess.

He was mostly naked with only a loin cloth covering his modesty and a golden pyramid-shaped helm without any slits for eyes. He recognized it as a uniform piece belonging to the Church Executioners. Strapped to his arm was a Church Cannon— the weapon used that nearly knocked them into the river below. And over his shoulder and gripped by a handle was the weapon that had killed the Knights pursuing him.

It was a cartwheel stained with dried blood. Blood that didn't just belong to the Knights he just murdered. It had been there long before today's assault.

He knew this man. He wasn't a friend but he had never been considered an enemy. They met a few times when Bell was venturing through the Pthumerian Tombs. This man had helped him slay some of the worst monsters imaginable. They had saved each other's lives numerous times.

He never had a name. Everyone else regarded him as… the Queen Slayer.

"I don't know what I've done to you," Bell said as he checked the Reiterpallasch a final time. Despite it being a spare that had been tucked away, it had been maintained well. "But I can't forgive you for this. You almost got Annalise and my goddess killed. They have nothing to do with the Dream."

The Queen Slayer cackled hard enough to have his shoulders shaking, "Nothing? Nothing?! Oh how delusional you've become, Good Hunter! Do you not know what that monstrosity is?! She is worse than any beast out there, even worse than the Hunters who give in to their beasthood and transform completely. And you? You're just as much of a heathen as she is."

"Why?!" he shouted back. "Why did the Church hate her so much?! Why did you have to slaughter everyone in her castle?! I've only seen kindness and compassion from her! I've never once seen anything that would make her into a monster!"

He pointed his blade at the Queen Slayer. His eyes sharpened as he let the bloodlust flood through his senses. " _I_ am more of a monster than she is. I am the one who ended the Dream and freed everyone from the Nightmare. And if I am a monster, then she can only be a goddess."

"Hmph," the man sneered with revulsion. "This is beyond delusion. I see now. The thing down there is not the one from elsewhere. She is whatever you want her to be. A distraction. A daydream. A _lie_. What Oedon says is true…

"It's time you return, Paleblood Hunter. You need to wake up soon."

He aimed his cannon at Bell's feet and fired.

Bell _Quickened_ to the side just as the ground erupted. He landed without a problem and charged at the man, who had discarded the cannon now that it was empty. He swung the wheel around just as Bell was upon him. The size and weight of the weapon made it predictable; Bell dodged and went for the quick strike that would end everything.

It was just then did the wheel split open. It was in fact two wheels strapped together. The seals binding them was cracked and split apart. Between the wedges came a dark power.

Red spectral energy flooded out of the wheel like angry flames. It made Bell leap away with alarm. Wisps of tongues rose out of the center ring of the wheel.

When he looked closely, the flames were faces. Each flicker of movement was a skull with the jaws stretching and releasing howls of curses, agony, and hatred.

The Queen Slayer raised his weapon and grabbed onto one of the wheels. He threw his arm across, spinning it on its axis. He did it again and again, increasing the speed with every push. The dark flames within grew darker, hotter, and more chaotic.

The man let out a bellow of a war cry as he brought the wheel down onto the ground a second time. This time, an explosion of dark flames spread out. Bell would have been caught in the blast hadn't he _Quickened_ away.

The man spun the wheel again, igniting the flames further while moving towards Bell. He swung his weapon around, sometimes in a horizontal arch and sometimes slamming it onto the ground. Each time, Bell was forced back as he didn't dare get close to the flames.

"Do you know why we persecute you, Good Hunter?!" the Queen Slayer screamed. "Do you know why we've crossed into this realm in order to hunt you? You have wronged us! You have wronged us just as that bitch of a queen slaughtered innocents in her thirst for blood! Do you know why the Dream existed?! There must always be a Dream, you daft fool!

"What do you think happens when the Dreamer wakes up?! The Dream is gone! What do you think happens to those he Dreams about?!"

He kept up his barrage of attacks while he wailed.

"He forgets about them! They fade away! They become nothing but memories and eventually nothing else! Everything is _gone_ because of you!

"You didn't save us from anything! You damned us all to oblivion!"

He threw his weapon around one last time before striking it into the ground. It became wedged in place. He didn't make an attempt to lift it.

"And… for what?" the Queen Slayer, despite having the advantage and pushing Bell back, was the one who sounded defeated. "For this? You don't remember who I am, do you? The people you surround yourself with… do you believe they honestly care about you? Your teammates, the Vileblood Queen, your goddess? They only care about you… because you want them to.

"When will you wake up, Good Hunter? Nothing here is real—"

Bell didn't listen to any of the man's jargon as he _Quickened_ forward and drove the Reiterpallasch through his chest. The force was strong enough to make the man stumble. Bell made sure to twist the blade before retching it out and kicking the man away.

The Queen Slayer fell onto his back. His helmet fell off.

Bell couldn't move as his eyes locked on the face of the man.

"I… what?" he shook his head. His eyes were wide and full of endless confusion. "But you… no. That's not. You can't be. Alfred?!"

The man, the one they called Queen Slayer, was the Executioner Alfred.

It didn't make sense. While he knew Hunters who had died in Yarhnam followed him here, Alfred and the Queen Slayer were two different things. Alfred had died before Bell had been able to contact the Queen Slayer with the Beckoning Bell. He knew for a fact Alfred had been dead. It was impossible for him to be the Queen Slayer.

"But…" still he tried to make sense of it all. "I saw you. You killed yourself at Logarius' altar."

Alfred let out a wet chuckle, "Is that… so? You and I… remember… things differently. Such is… the nature of… the Dream."

Before anything else could be asked of the dying man, another explosion shook Bell out of his stupor. It came from down below… on the same road where he had left the Queen and Hestia.

He panicked. How could he have not assumed otherwise? If there was someone attacking from behind them and someone flanking them, then why couldn't there be more of them elsewhere? Or, since it was coming from behind the caravan, had the Knights failed? Was the opposition too strong?

"You have to return… Good Hunter. Don't let the Dream… fade away."

Those were Alfred's final words as his body went limp.

Bell couldn't afford to pay them any mind. Someone was quickly approaching the Queen's carriage, dispatching Knights like dust in the wind. From this high up, there was little Bell could do to stop him. He needed to get down there and fast.

0-0-0

The sun was behind the mountains and the moon hung high over their heads. Its crescent shape shone brighter than the afternoon sun. He could feel it sing to him, guide him, tell him all of the world's secrets.

With every swing of his sword, a bladed beam of moonlight was released from its edge. Every putrid Vileblood in front of him was carved with the minimalist effort. That did not mean he was being casual about his purification. He took his oaths seriously, and with it his job as a Hunter of the Church. He met with every Vileblood as though they would be the one who will strike him down.

Alas, they never could get close.

His aim was for the head of the snake. There was nowhere she could run. It was an understanding the both of them had as he approached. There were too few Vilebloods left who could oppose him as well as escort her away.

Finally, he was a few yards away from her. Standing between them were the remains of her… army.

"Vileblood Queen," he regarded her like a worthy opponent. After all, she was _the_ enemy of the Church.

"Executioner," Queen Annalise tipped her head with a voice of respect just as much as the one given to her.

"I have no quarrel with you personally," he offered, for what it was worth. "However, I cannot tolerate your existence. Your very presence tilts the scales of balance in the natural order."

"Thine words are ours as well," she spoke curtly. "A blade would be at thy neck just as so. Know it matters not how many Vilebloods thou'st butcher today. It hath transpired before. Thou cannot kill us. Thy blade is useless against us. We shall make more in due time."

"I am aware of your immortality," he said with a grim tone. The grip on his sword tightened. "That is why I have been sent here. I am to make sure you _don't_ return."

Queen Annalise scoffed at him.

"Goddess Hestia," he turned his attention towards the childlike divinity standing near the vampire. "You are neither Vileblood nor a part of this affair. I wish you and your child no harm. Stand aside. I beg of you."

There was no doubt Hestia was frightened. The Good Hunter must have told her some truths about the other world. She recognized something within him, particularly how powerful he was. Even if he had carved his way through dozens of bodies to prove it.

She didn't listen. Instead, she stepped in front of Annalise and spread her arms out. She meant to use herself as a shield.

"I won't," she protested. "I hate this old crone but she's important to my Bell. She's the one who can give Bell everything I can't. I won't let you touch a hair on her. Even if it means I have to use my divinity to do it!"

He understood what it meant. For a god to unleash their divinity, to access their Arcanum, meant to manipulate the fabric of reality through miracles. In exchange, their mortal vessels were forfeited and they would return to the heavens. They could never interfere with the physical world again.

It meant she would willingly separate herself from Bell. She was willing to sacrifice herself on the idea of providing a better life for her child.

Such was the will of a goddess. A will he could respect.

But…

"Very well," he said grimly.

But his responsibilities as an Executioner transcended the selfish whims of a lone goddess. He could not afford to sacrifice so much for the happiness of one boy.

Hestia's eyes bulged out when she saw the determination in his eyes. Whether it had been a bluff or not, he would strike her down if she was in the way.

He rose the Moonlight Greatsword over his head. The world around them grew dark as its radiance intensified. What had been a dim moonlight glow gradually became a radiance that rivaled the sun's.

"Protect the Queen!" the Knights shouted.

"Stop him!"

"Shoot him!"

"Everyone at him at once!"

"Open fire!"

He felt their bullets pelt against his cloth. He felt their sting as they pierced through the fabrics. Yet he didn't stop gathering the power hidden away in his blade. He needed more if he was to eradicate the Queen entirely.

Another radiance lit up across of him.

The little goddess' skin began to glow in a multitude of colors. Divine light permeated off of her, swaying her hair with arcane winds. Determination flashed in her eyes as her powers began to grow to match his.

Ah, so it was not a bluff after all. She meant to use her divinity to oppose him. So be it.

The Moonlight Greatsword was reaching the crux of its power.

"Hestia," Queen Annalise's voice was liken to a mother chastising her child. "My husband will never be happy if thou art gone from this world."

Hestia's head snapped around just as Annalise moved to the goddess' side… and shoved her aside with all of her strength. The smaller woman stumbled around a few steps before tumbling to the floor. She landed a little over ten feet away from Annalise.

For a moment, he felt admiration for this monster.

It passed.

"ANNALISE!"

The blade came down.

0-0-0

Bell rushed as fast as he could. The fastest way to the caravan was straight down. There wasn't an easy path of protruding rocks he could climb down. He leapt off the edge and used the blade of the Reiterpallasch to slow his fall. The blade snapped in two when he got snagged between two rocks. The fall afterwards was ungraceful and he slammed onto the ground with enough momentum to leave him jarred.

 _Get up!_ he screamed at himself when his body wouldn't obey. He was up on his elbows with darkness in the corner of his vision. He gritted his teeth and fought against the pain. His heart was hammering. He needed to get up and save them both!

The fighting had stopped, if not momentarily. He could still feel the presence of something… potent, for lack of a better word. There was no bloodlust like any Hunter. If anything, there was a sort of gravitas surrounding this presence. Something that was telling his instincts the one by the Queen was just as equal as she was.

He got a clue when night fell sooner than it should have. More like all of the world's light was being drawn to a focal point. And that center was right where Annalise and Hestia were.

He got up to his feet and started to move. He shook his head and forced back the darkness in his vision. He gained clarity as the emergency of the situation finally reached his body. He kicked up speed, even _Quickening_ with every step he could.

He reached close enough to see what was going on.

A magical sword was raised over an Executioner's head, specifically the man he had met at the Gathering who accompanied the Doll. The light had reached its peak. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. But he knew the destruction of that weapon.

He saw Annalise shove Hestia out of the way. But there was no guarantee she was out of the blasting range.

"ANNALISE!" he shouted. He was just a few steps away from her. He could save her!

Her head snapped round at the sound of his voice.

The blade was dropped.

A blast of moonlight fire exploded outwards in a cone shape from the base of the sword. It swallowed every Knight in its path… including Annalise.

Before Bell was swept away in the blast, he saw the moonlight scorch the silk band off of her face. Her eyes were crimson within a world of silvery blue. They were wide, full of shock.

Her face shifted. It was full of acceptance and… sadness.

He saw her dissipate into nothingness an instant later.

The wave lasted no longer than a few short seconds. But everything in its path had been reduced to ash and ruin. There were no Knights left. There was no carriage or horses. There was no Annalise.

There was no Hestia.

The only one to have survived was Bell. His skin was burnt black and pink with the upper half of his suit scorched into ruins. Yet, these were all just surface wounds. He knew he could take two more of those attacks before succumbing to it.

"LUDWIG!"

He shouted. No amount of pain from his wounds could measure up to the amount of pain he was feeling within his heart. He had failed. He couldn't save Annalise. He couldn't save his goddess. They were both gone.

Ludwig the Accursed looked at Bell with eyes full of pity. He shouldered the Moonlight Greatsword, reduced to its idle form with the occasional crackle of static energy. He reached into the chest pocket of his Church robes and pulled out… a Hunter's Mark.

He was planning to run away?! No! Bell wouldn't allow that to happen!

"Not yet, Good Hunter," he said calmly as he placed the item onto his face. His form was already starting to fade away. "We will fight soon enough. In the meantime, perhaps you ought to notice your surroundings? Your goddess might still be alive."

He jerked his chin off towards the cliff. Bell followed the direction. He spotted Hestia's miniature hat hanging off of an extended branch.

Bell ignored Ludwig's presence entirely as he ran towards the edge. His eyes scanned whatever he could. There was only a steep slope that led to a river.

There was blood on one of those rocks.

The blast had knocked her off the edge and into the river.

Without hesitation, Bell leapt off the cliff. His goddess could still be alive! She might be hurt and if he didn't act quickly, she might drown in the river.

He couldn't save Annalise. He will never forgive himself if he couldn't save his goddess.

He didn't have time to mull over everything that had happened. Not the words or existence of Alfred nor the death of Annalise. All that consumed him was his need to reach his goddess.

He managed to land in the river but was immediately swept up in its cold current. He tried to gain control over his direction but he wound up being slammed into rocks as he traveled downstream. He tumbled around before gaining the ability to break through the surface.

He took in a deep breath of air and dove back in, swimming downstream with all his might in search of his goddess.

He found her. A stream of blood was flowing from the side of her head as her unconscious body drifted down the current. He pushed himself to reach her. He wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her to the surface.

The next struggle was to get out of the river. The current was strong. But it didn't stop him from trying.

He saw movement in the corner of his vision. He panicked. He couldn't afford to deal with stray monsters while trying to save his goddess.

He became surprised when he saw Aiz Wallenstein running along the river's edge. She was carrying a large branch with her, trying to get his attention in her usual silent way. He understood and tried to reach as close to her as possible. His grip on the branch slipped twice. The third time he held firm and she pulled him to shore.

"She's not breathing," was the first thing he said. "I don't know what to do!"

He scanned Aiz's form. He couldn't see any pouches for potions. He didn't have any blood vials on him.

Blood. He had blood. If he could heal Eina with his own blood, then surely it would work on Hestia, right? But… Hestia was a goddess. Would it work on someone like her?

"Stand back," Aiz said as she scooted close to where Hestia lay on her back. Bell was alarmed when she began to press her hands against Hestia's abdomen a few times and then breathe into her mouth. He thought nothing of it as he watched. Aiz was an experienced adventurer. This had to be some kind of revitalization technique… right?

A moment later, Hestia coughed. Water was spat out of her mouth. Aiz turned the goddess to her side and rubbed her back. Hestia continued to cough until no more water remained. Yet, she remained unconscious and fell back still.

"W-What do we do?" Bell asked on the verge of a full panic.

"We move," someone else said.

Bell spun around. He had been so focused on his goddess he hadn't senses Bete Loga approach. The lycan had his arms crossed as he gave a quick look at them all.

"She needs warmth," he said after a moment. "Plus you're in no shape yourself. We need to find shelter. And fast. It's getting dark."

The howling of dire wolves was heard in the distance.

"Aiz, help him," Bete ordered. He knelt down and picked up Hestia's body into his arms, cradling her like a princess. At Bell's concerned look, he responded, "I got her. Just worry about yourself."

He started to march off without looking back.

Aiz was at his side. She threw one of his arms over her shoulder to help support him. But he wasn't tired. His injuries from Ludwig's sword were only skin deep.

He instantly noticed the bags under Aiz's eyes and the drag in her steps.

The arm over her shoulder shifted to grab at her waist. She looked at him with a questioning gaze.

"I'm fine," he insisted. "You're the one who looks tired, Aiz. Let me help you. It's the least I can do for helping my goddess."

She studied him in long silence. Eventually she nodded and threw her arm over his shoulder.

A moment like this would have been bliss to him. But his heart wasn't in it. Even when he was this close to his idol, all he could feel was numbness.

His eyes stared at Bete's back without ever actually watching it. His body moved to follow him but his mind was elsewhere. He kept trying to focus on his goddess.

But all of the woes within the past few days he had pushed aside were accumulating to the front of his mind. The death of Annalise was the final pressure that was breaking the dam.

If he lost his goddess… he wasn't sure he could remain sane much longer.

* * *

 **Pat reon: Arrixam**


End file.
